Photo by Zeb Besch: Carter Schwab of Bishop Garrigan drives against South Winneshiek during a Class 1A substate final on Saturday night in Mason City.

MASON CITY — Last Wednesday night, Carter Schwab celebrated with his father, Bishop Garrigan girls head coach Brandon Schwab, after the Golden Bears punched a ticket to state at the Mason City Riverhawk gym.

Three days later, it was a role reversal for the Schwab family, as Carter and the Golden Bear boys secured their own spot in the Class 1A state tournament with a 73-60 victory over South Winneshiek in a substate final.

With the win, second-ranked Garrigan (23-2 overall) advances to Des Moines and the Casey’s Center where they will face No. 9 Bellevue Marquette (23-2) on Tuesday, March 10, at 7:15 p.m. The Defenders knocked off Montezuma on a game-winning three-pointer in overtime, 66-63.

Michael Joyce scored 20 points to lead the way for the Golden Bears, as Schwab added 18. Amaury Thomas had 12 points with 13 rebounds and Madden Miller was the fourth Garrigan player in double figures with 11.

Schwab, a senior who helped the Golden Bears to the eight-player state football title this past fall, congratulated his father on the MCHS floor after the Golden Bears downed Lake Mills to secure a seventh straight state trip three nights earlier.

The elder Schwab found his senior son to repay the embrace.

“It was a surreal feeling getting to qualify on the same court my dad did,” Schwab said. “We have talked about it a lot these last few days.

“It was a really cool experience.”

South Winneshiek (21-4) led 22-15 after the first period and held a three-point advantage at the half. From there, it was all Garrigan, as they outscored the Warriors in the third by a 27-9 count.

“We knew they’d hit a lot of shots in the first half and we had to figure out how to defend their ball screens and off-ball screens,” Schwab said. “Then we decided to run a 3-2 zone, and that’s when we went on our big run in the third quarter. It was a great adjustment by our coaches to make that call knowing we have not ran that all year.

“We all hit big shots when they mattered.”

Tate Foertsch, the starting quarterback on the football team for the past three years with two state titles under his guidance, added eight points, six rebounds, four steals and four assists.

Joining Bishop Garrigan and Bellevue Marquette in the 1A field will be top-ranked St. Edmond — which the Golden Bears topped earlier this year — as well as Woodbine, No. 4 Burlington Notre Dame, sixth-ranked Bellevue, No. 2 MMCRU and Boyden-Hull.

The Golden Bears were denied a state trip last winter, falling to the Gaels in a substate final. Bishop Garrigan last qualified for boys state basketball in 2020, making the championship round.