At the opening day of the Boys’ State Basketball Tournament in Des Moines, Garner-Hayfield remained unbeaten but just barely. The Cardinals held off a furious rally by Council Bluffs St.Albert for a 56-54 win in the 2A quarterfinals. Matt Pronk led Garner-Hayfield with 21-points and says the Falcons pushed them to the limit as they haven’t been tested all season long. Matt O’Connor led St. Albert with 19-points and his desperation shot off an inbounds pass misfired at the buzzer. St. Albert coach Shad Coppock was proud of the comeback effort he says his kids fought hard after being down by double digits, and he says that’s all they can ask for. In class 1A, Treynor survived a slow start in which they scored only seven first quarter points but pulled away in the second quarter for a 49-40 victory over Coon-Rapids Bayard. Quentin Stortenbecker led Treynor with 18-points. Fredricksburg missed a number of free throws down the stretch and allowed Lynnville-Sully to make a late comeback. But Jason Steege finished 12 of 16 from the line as the Falcons held on for a 78-72 win. Steege says his coach got on him about missing the free throws earlier and he says he was lucky to make them at the end. Lynnville-Sully coach John Howard says his team battle through adversity to make a game of it. He says with three players fouling out and one injured, they gave it a heck of a run at the end. [Photo by Andrea Melendez, with permission of The Des Moines Register]