-Messenger phot by Britt Kudla Jack McElroy of St. Edmond puts up a shot against Bishop Garrigan during 1A Substate on Saturday in Humboldt

HUMBOLDT — Jack McElroy picked the perfect time for his best game in a St. Edmond uniform.

McElroy scored a career-high 18 points here Saturday night, helping the fourth-ranked (Class 1A) Gaels punch their return ticket to the state tournament for the first time since 2012 with a 78-61 victory over rival Bishop Garrigan in a substate final.

With the win, St. Edmond (22-3 overall) secured one of eight spots in the 1A field where they will take on No. 9 Woodbine on Wednesday, March 12 at 3:45 p.m. from Des Moines and Wells Fargo Arena.

Hunter Horn had 24 points with 12 rebounds while Carson Bargfrede knocked down three 3-pointers and scored 19. McElroy had 10 in the opening half as the Gaels took the best shot of the Golden Bears (21-4) and still led by four after 16 minutes of intense back-and-forth action.

“(Qualifying for state) is a dream come true,” McElroy said. “After our first year, going 5-18, we got a couple of kids to get going and here we are now. It’s just incredible and feels great.”

Playing for the second time this year inside the Humboldt High School gym, St. Edmond seemed at home, shooting 9 of 16 from the 3-point line while going 12-for-19 at the free throw line down the stretch to seal the deal.

“It feels great,” Horn said. “This was our goal and now we are headed to state.”

The night was far from ideal for the Gaels, as junior Jakob Koopman went down with a non-contact injury midway through the third and did not return. In his place, McElroy, Bargfrede and lone senior Andrew Clavey stepped up, scoring a combined 14 in the third with Bargfrede adding nine in the fourth.

Bargfrede also had four rebounds, two steals and a blocked shot while Clavey grabbed six rebounds and McElroy had five.

“These kids deserve this,” SEHS head coach Adolph Kochendorfer said. “They have worked so hard and put in the time. I thought we did a great job on the glass against a big, physical team in Garrigan.

“Jack has been shooting the ball really well in practice the last few days and stepped up. That was just great to see from someone who has worked so hard.”

The opening half featured a number of lead changes, but the second belonged to the Gaels. St. Edmond took a 37-31 lead on a bucket just before he went down. It would expand to seven on a Clavey triple just before the end of the third.

St. Edmond’s advantage would grow to 13 when McElroy sank his third 3-pointer of the night and hit 13 with just 95 seconds left.

“We always try to focus on those first three minutes of the second half,” Horn said. “I thought we came out and took control of the game during that stretch of play.”

McElroy, who called Horn the “best center in 1A,” credited all of his teammates with his big night.

“Having Hunter inside spreads the floor for everybody,” McElroy said. “I got great shooters around him so I didn’t really do anything myself. I just put the ball in the basket and my teammates did the rest.”

For Garrigan, Michael Joyce scored 23 points while Amaury Thomas added 12 and Carter Schwab had 10. Thomas grabbed five rebounds and Schwab had four steals.

“Garrigan is a great team with great athletes,” McElroy said. “They don’t ever give up so we just had to coe out and give it our all for four quarters.”

The other three 1A quarterfinals pit sixth-ranked Gladbrook-Reinbeck vs. No. 8 North Linn, top-ranked Bellevue Marquette vs. Remsen St. Mary’s and No. 2 Madrid vs. Boyden-Hull.

ST. EDMOND 78, BISHOP GARRIGAN 61

St. Edmond – Andrew Clavey 2-4 0-0 6, Jakob Koopman 2-5 2-2 6, Jack McElroy 6-10 3-4 18, Grant Galles 1-2 3-5 5, Hunter Horn 9-15 5-7 24, Carson Bargfrede 6-9 4-6 19, Ty Mericle 0-0 0-0. Totals: 26-46 17-25 78.

Bishop Garrigan – Tate Foertsch 1-1 0-0 2, Michael Joyce 8-24 3-4 23, Carter Schwab 4-14 0-2 10, Amaury Thomas 6-7 0-2 12, Nick Leerar 2-4 0-2 4, Drew Muller 3-3 0-0 8, Trayton Cink 1-1 0-0 2. Totals: 25-54 3-10 61.

Quarter scores: St. Edmond led 18-16, 33-29, 55-48. Three-point goals: St. Edmond 9-16 (Clavey 2-3, McElroy 3-5, Horn 1-2, Bargfrede 3-6), Bishop Garrigan 8-24 (Joyce 4-12, Schwab 2-10, Muller 2-2). Total rebounds: St. Edmond 33, Bishop Garrigan 21. Steals: St. Edmond 5, Bishop Garrigan 5. Blocked shots: St. Edmond 1, Bishop Garrigan 3. Turnovers: St. Edmond 8, Bishop Garrigan 9. Team fouls: St. Edmond 12, Bishop Garrigan 16. Fouled out: Thomas.