-Messenger photo by Britt Kudla Hunter Horn of St. Edmond shoots around Clarion-Goldfield/Dows on Friday

The ninth-ranked (Class 1A) St. Edmond boys stretched their win streak to six here Friday night with a hard-fought 66-58 victory over Clarion-Goldfield/Dows inside a loud SEHS gym.

Hunter Horn, who celebrated his birthday, scored a game-high 27 points, adding 12 rebounds, four blocked shots, three steals and three dunks on the night to lead the Gaels (12-2 overall, 7-2 in North Central Conference).

Fellow junior Jakob Koopman also posted a double-double, scoring 16 points with 12 rebounds and four steals.

“You see it all the time in college in that the second time through the conference, the games get a lot tougher,” SEHS head coach Adolph Kochendorfer said. “Teams have more film and are better prepared. Credit them for playing well, taking away Hunter inside at times and for really making this a tough game.

“I thought our kids did a great job of handling the adversity that came our way, especially Jakob. He did so many important little things out there that sometimes get overlooked but we appreciate just how vital he is to the success of our team.”

St. Edmond was able to put the Cowboys (6-10, 2-7) away at the free throw line late, going 16-for-19 in the fourth quarter after the lead they built had been dwindled away.

Johnny Lomeli sank five 3-pointers for Clarion-Goldfield/Dows, scoring a team-high 19 to help lead the rally. Chaz Lane added 17 and Huxley Lingenfelter finished with seven and eight rebounds.

“We can’t duplicate those kinds of situations in practice,” Kochendorfer said. “Seeing the kids respond to how the game went was important because we know things are only going to get tougher from here on out. They would not give us anything inside at times, but we were able to get some dribble penetration there in the second half and Hunter came up big for us.

“I’d really just like to thank the crowd because they really helped boost the confidence of the kids when they needed it. It was a great environment and that support was so important.”

Ty Mericle came off the bench to help spark a 21-point first half with a pair of 3-pointers, as the Gaels led by as many as 15. Slowly, though, the Cowboys battled back, cutting it to 31-24 at the break and making it a two-point game going into the fourth.

Horn scored 21 of his points over the final 16 minutes, including 11 in the third quarter to help keep St. Edmond afloat. He also had a breakaway dunk that ignited the crowd and kicked off a 9-0 run in the fourth.

The Gaels now prepare for the stretch run with three games next week and four remaining dates in February, as five of those will take place at home. St. Edmond hosts Algona on Tuesday, West Bend-Mallard on Thursday and travels to Hampton-Dumont/CAL next Friday.

ST. EDMOND 66, CLARION-GOLDFIELD/DOWS 58

St. Edmond — Andrew Clavey 2-6 0-0 6, Jakob Koopman 5-6 6-6 16, Jack McElroy 1-9 0-2 2, Grant Galles 1-5 1-2 3, Hunter Horn 8-17 11-13 27, Carson Bargfrede 1-8 3-3 6, Ty Mericle 2-4 0-0 6. Totals: 20-55 21-25 66.

Clarion-Goldfield/Dows — Huxley Lingenfelter 3-11 1-2 7, Tristan Kakacek 1-5 0-0 2, Chaz Lane 6-12 4-5 17, Johnny Lomeli 7-12 0-0 19, Bryce Lindaman 1-3 0-0 2, Cesar Rosales 0-0 2-2 2, Ethan Russell 3-4 0-0 9, Ethan Hasty 0-1 0-0 0. Totals: 18-47 7-9 58.

Quarter scores: St. Edmond led 21-12, 31-24, 46-44. Three-point goals: St. Edmond 5-25 (Clavey 2-5, McElroy 0-5, Galles 0-4, Bargfrede 1-6, Mericle 2-4), Clarion-Goldfield/Dows 9-23 (Lingenfelter 0-2, Kakacek 0-4, Lane 1-4, Lomeli 5-8, Russell 3-4, Hasty 0-1). Total rebounds: St. Edmond 39, Clarion-Goldfield/Dows 30. Steals: St. Edmond 8, Clarion-Goldfield/Dows 4. Blocked shots: St. Edmond 5, Clarion-Goldfield/Dows 1. Turnovers: St. Edmond 9, Clarion-Goldfield/Dows 15. Team fouls: St. Edmond 13, Clarion-Goldfield/Dows 18. Fouled out: Lingenfelter, Lindaman.