Bellevue Marquette to face Madrid for 1A championship

Final game of Championship Friday will pit Bellevue Marquette vs. Madrid

Toryn Severson (3) led Madrid past St. Edmond and into the Class 1A title game Thursday night. / Cody Scanlan/The Register / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Top-seed Bellevue Marquette got everything it could handle and more from Gladbrook-Reinbeck on Thursday in the Class 1A semifinals.

In the end, though, the top-seed Defenders prevailed, 57-45, advancing to Friday’s final inside Wells Fargo Arena from Des Moines.

In a back-and-forth affair that featured numerous lead changes, Bellevue Marquette used a 9-2 run to start the fourth to gain control. Spencer Roeder scored 21 with Eli Scott adding 14 as Jacob Litterer cemented the win with a dunk in the closing seconds.

For Gladbrook-Reinbeck, Michael Boyd had 18 and Drew Eilers joined him in double figures with 10.

Bellevue Marquette will go for its first state championship when they face Madrid, who knocked off St. Edmond in the second semifinal. That game will tip at 7 p.m.

Severson leads Madrid to championship

Toryn Severson took over, putting Madrid on his shoulders and into the 1A state championship game.

Severson, who is headed to Waldorf in the fall, scored a game-high 32 points, knocking down six 3-pointers as the Tigers eliminated St. Edmond, 71-58.

Three of his teammates joined him in double figures, including Fabian Ortiz-Alaniz, who had several late buckets to keep the Gaels from mounting a comeback.

For St. Edmond, who was looking to reach its sixth finals, Hunter Horn scored 23 with Carson Bargfrede adding 17.