—Messenger photo by Britt Kudla BISHOP Garrigan’s Cade Winkel dribbles away from St. Edmond’s Jed Tracy in the Gael gym this season. Winkel is sitting at 994 career points.

DES MOINES — Bishop Garrigan head coach Mark Meister told his team heading into the fourth quarter of Wednesday’s Class 1A semifinal they had eight minutes left to finish the job.

Now, the Golden Bears have 32 minutes to complete a dream season and crown themselves state champions.

Bishop Garrigan (24-2 overall) meets Wapsie Valley (20-7) here Friday inside Wells Fargo Arena at 2 p.m. for the title.

The Golden Bears posted a convincing 66-52 victory over fellow Top of Iowa Conference champion West Fork in the semis, while the Warriors — the eight-seed — earned a second upset by ousting Montezuma, 57-42.

“We are honored and humbled to be part of (the finals),” Meister said. “I don’t have words for it. I am just so excited for the kids, fans and school.”

Meister, who is now 28-3 since taking over late last year, admitted he had his doubts about the ultimate goal, but those were erased as the season started to progress.

“They told me they would do it and I had to buy into them,” he said. “As the year unfolded, every win seemed to get us more and more locked in. It’s amazing how focused they have been.”

That included in the semifinals after seeing West Fork cut into the lead with a three-point play late in the third quarter. How did the Golden Bears answer?

By scoring the first 15 points of the fourth and sealing the first state title appearance in program history.

Three previous times Bishop Garrigan has reached state, placing fourth in 1993 and falling in the first round in 2010 and last year. In comparison, Wapsie Valley has qualified for state eight times under Marty McKowen, finishing second in 2003 and third in 1989 and ’96. McKowen owns 595 career wins.

In the semis, the Warriors relied on balance to best Trey Shearer and Montezuma, as Gunner Meyer scored 17 with both Kobe Risse and Kiks Rosengarten adding 14 each. Rosengarten also had 10 rebounds and Risse seven with five assists.

Wapsie Valley started its march with a 49-45 victory over No. 1 seed Lake Mills, a conference rival of Garrigan’s. Meyer scored 19 with Rosengarten adding 16 and nine in that one.

The Warriors were actually the four-seed in their own district behind Alburnett, Belle Plaine and Don Bosco when postseason play began.

For Bishop Garrigan, Angelo Winkel has 38 points, 30 rebounds and 10 blocks in the two games at state. John Joyce has 30 points with seven assists, six rebounds and six steals, while Cade Winkel has scored 24 points with 15 boards, eight assists and four blocks.

Last week, the Golden Bear girls reached their first state championship game, falling to Newell-Fonda.