CARROLL, Iowa -- Nick Muller scored a season-high 15 points to lead Sergeant Bluff-Luton to a 51-39 win over No. 4 Carroll in a Class 3A boys substate basketball semifinal game played Thursday.
Jake Layman also added in 11 points for the Warriors, who held a Tiger team averaging 67.1 points per game this season well under that mark.
Daniel Wright, SB-L's 6-8 post player, scored nine points and hauled in 15 rebounds while Deric Fitzgerald also had nine points and earned praise for his floor game from coach Adam Vander Schaaf.
"Fitzgerald did a great job chasing the ball around the court on defense," said Vander Schaaf, "We did a great job playing hard as a team on defense. We showed alot of heart."
"We have a great deal of respect for Carroll, they guarded us really well, too."
SB-L held a 17-14 lead at the half and led 30-29 after three quarters before opening a double digit lead late.
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Carter Lein also had 15 and Kaleb Booth 10 for the Tigers, who end their season with a 19-4 record.
The Warriors, now 13-10, will take on Le Mars in the substate final Monday at North High School. The Bulldogs advanced with a 31-point fourth quarter to rally past No. 8 MOC-Floyd Valley 67-61 in another substate semifinal played in Orange City Thursday.
SB-L will be looking to earn its fourth straight state tournament berth when it take on Le Mars. The Warriors edged the Bulldogs 45-42 on Dec. 5 while Le Mars came back got a 55-50 win in the rematch between the two Missouri River Conference teams on Jan. 21.
LE MARS 67, MOC-FLOYD VALLEY 61: Le Mars was on the road and trailing MOC-Floyd Valley, which was ranked No. 8 in the final class 3A rankings, by seven points going into the fourth quarter.
But the Bulldogs' offense started to get rolling and shut down the Dutchmen offense at the same time. Le Mars held MOC-Floyd Valley to only three points in the first five minutes of the fourth quarter to grab a 10-point lead. Le Mars finished the fourth quarter with 31 points, which didn't allow MOC-Floyd Valley to come back, for a 67-61 upset in the Class 3A substate semifinal.
With the win, Le Mars advances to the 3A substate finals against Sergeant Bluff-Luton at 7 p.m. on Saturday at North High School. Le Mars, which came into the postseason on a three-game losing streak, improves to 15-8 overall. MOC-Floyd Valley's six-game winning streak was snapped as the Dutchmen end the season with a 19-4 record.
BISHOP GARRIGAN 75, HARRIS-LAKE PARK 58: A 12-0 run at the end of the first half gave Bishop Garrigan a 38-23 halftime lead and Garrigan controlled the rest of the game in a Class 1A district final on Thursday. Bishop Garrigan went on to win 75-58.
Harris-Lake Park ends the season with an 11-11 record.