Messenger photo by Britt Kudla: Hunter Horn of St. Edmond goes up for a dunk against Webster City on Tuesday. For more photos, please visit CU.messengernews.net

The fifth-ranked (Class 1A) St. Edmond boys put a seal on an impressive regular season here Tuesday night, blitzing Webster City by a final of 68-38.

On Senior Night, the Gaels relied on their talented junior class to shoulder the load once again, as Hunter Horn scored a game-high 38 points — including 20 in the third quarter.

Classmate Jakob Koopman added 10 with lone senior Andrew Clavey chipping in five.

Horn, who surpassed the 1,000 career mark for points in his career including his brief stint at Fort Dodge Senior High, now has 1,003 points overall. He sits at 996 in a St. Edmond (18-3 overall, 11-3 in the North Central Conference) uniform, which puts him 11th all-time and just six points back of former all-state point guard Jack Brownlee for 10th.

“He just continues to expand his game,” SEHS head coach Adolph Kochendorfer said of Horn. “By showing he can knock down a deep shot, he is forcing defenses to defend him even further out, which is opening up even more of the lane for him.

“And he does such a great job of finding cutters and open shooters; that was a really impressive performance he had.”

The Gaels raced out to an early 19-3 lead on the Lynx (7-12, 6-7) before the 3-point shot allowed Webster City to get back in it for a brief time. Another flurry of baskets from St. Edmond, though, saw the deficit grow.

For the Lynx, Cole Miller scored 10 with Carter Mickelson adding six.

“Webster City is a very big, very physical team,” Kochendorfer said. “I thought we did a good job of matching that. Jakob did an incredible job on Miller on defense while also standing out on the offensive end.”

Both Koopman and Horn grabbed nine rebounds each, with Koopman adding two blocks, including one on what seemed to be a breakaway layup for Webster City.

Horn and Koopman combined to score all 37 points for St. Edmond in the second and third quarters combined, with Horn knocking down a 3-pointer for good measure.

“Even when (Webster City) went on a run, we never got rattled,” Kochendorfer said. “That really shows the kind of composure this group has formed. They just kept their heads down and played good, solid basketball.

“It was great to get the win on Senior Night for Andrew, who has given everything to this program the last four years.”

The Gaels will now rest up and prepare for the start of district play, which begins next week at home.

ST. EDMOND 68, WEBSTER CITY 38

St. Edmond — Andrew Clavey 2 0-0 5, Jakob Koopman 5 0-0 10, Jack McElroy 2 0-0 4, Grant Galles 2 0-0 4, Hunter Horn 14 9-11 38, Carson Bargfrede 1 0-0 2, Ty Mericle 1 0-0 3, Jackson Calvert 0 0-0 0, Jacob Nieland 1 0-0 2, Thomas Ehn 0 0-0 0, Griffin Laufersweiler 0 0-0 0, Thomas Knobbe 0 0-0 0, Evan Christiansen 0 0-0 0. Totals: 28 9-11 68.

Webster City — Conner Peck 1 3-6 5, Carter Mickelson 2 1-1 6, Matthew Tesdahl 1 0-0 2, Cole Miller 4 0-0 10, Gavin Griffith 2 0-0 4, Jaxon Griffith 1 0-0 3, Luke Firsching 1 0-0 2, Coyce Bertran 0 0-0 0, Alex Staley 2 0-0 4, Grant Arends 0 0-0 0, Damion Elliott 1 0-0 2, Aiden Hrnicek 0 0-0 0. Totals: 15 4-7 38.

Quarter scores: St. Edmond led 19-6, 34-24, 56-31. Three-point goals: St. Edmond 3 (Clavey, Horn, Mericle), Webster City 4 (Mickelson, Miller 2, J. Griffith). Total rebounds: St. Edmond 37, Webster City 22. Steals: St. Edmond 8, Webster City 3. Blocked shots: St. Edmond 2, Webster City 1. Turnovers: St. Edmond 12, Webster City 18. Team fouls: St. Edmond 11, Webster City 13. Technical foul: Tesdahl.