Messenger photo by Britt Kudla: St. Edmond's Jack McElroy reacts to a play late during Thursday night’s Class 1A state semifinal loss to Madrid in Des Moines. For more photos, visit CU at messengernews.net

DES MOINES — The St. Edmond boys didn’t just take a small step back in the direction of being a premier team in Class 1A this year.

The Gaels took a giant one.

On Thursday night in the semifinal round, though, they ran into a Madrid squad with just a little too much Toryn Severson. The undefeated Tigers prevailed inside Wells Fargo Arena by a final score of 71-58.

The Tigers (27-0 overall) will now put their perfect record on the line Friday night versus top-seed Bellevue Marquette, in search of the first boys basketball title in school history. Severson finished with a game-high 32 points against St. Edmond, knocking down six 3-pointers.

Three other Madrid players scored 11, including several key late buckets by Fabian Ortiz-Alaniz and Brody Buck that kept the Gaels (23-4) from getting closer than seven points.

Hunter Horn had 23 points — including nine in the fourth — while Carson Bargfrede finished with 17 for St. Edmond. The junior duo knocked down a combined six 3-pointers and grabbed 11 rebounds with three assists.

“We just needed one more big stop or a big rebound (in the fourth) to really get back into it,” Horn said. “We came out in the fourth and put pressure on them, but we just couldn’t quite get (the deficit) back down.

“We know what it takes to get down here now, and we’ll be working to make sure we don’t come up one game short of where we want to be again.”

To start the fourth period, the Gaels quickly cut into the Madrid lead thanks to four quick points for Horn. Buck, though, answered and Jevyn Severson — a freshman — had another putback to push the advantage back to double digits.

Horn, who played with Toryn Severson in Ames at All-Iowa Attack, recorded a slick block at the rim against the future Waldorf Warrior.

“Yeah, I’ve played with or against all five of their starters,” he said. “I knew we would have to try and contain him, but he did a great job finding his shot.”

Madrid finished the game shooting 51 percent from the field and buried seven 3-pointers while holding a plus-eight advantage on the glass. They also committed just nine tunrovers and were 80 percent at the free throw line.

“We knew they were tough,” Bargfrede said. “I knew guarding Severson I was in for a treat. He showed me what he could do.

“I think we were ready for it, but with all they throw at you, it’s hard to defend.”

Bargfrede, put into the starting lineup after Jakob Koopman was injured in the substate final, had 10 points in the opening quarter as the Tiger defense focused on taking away Horn.

“I’m really proud of all of us for pushing through the final second,” Bargfrede said. “I had four games at Webster City before getting injured (a year ago as a sophomore), so I didn’t have that experience on varsity. I knew I wasn’t going to start every game, but once I got into the rotation, I had to personally step up.

“We’ve taken a giant step in the right direction, and we’ll bring back four starters with myself off the bench. I’m just really proud right now.”

Koopman, who had an 18-point game in the quarterfinal win over Woodbine, was limited after coming down on his injured knee. That not only impacted the depth St. Edmond had, but the size they could throw at Madrid.

“Without Jakob, we had to change what we were doing on defense,” Horn said. “We didn’t have that extra guy we could use and we lost some key strength inside.”

St. Edmond ended a lengthy state drought while placing second in the North Central Conference to 3A finalist Clear Lake. This marked the first loss in nine games against a 1A school this year for the Gaels, who had last visited Des Moines in 2012 to cap a magical 13-year run.

“Madrid is the real deal,” SEHS head coach Adolph Kochendorfer said. “They are one of those teams that if you try to help, the kid you help off of can hurt you. They have shooters, kids who can drive, and a very talented player (in Toryn Severson) who can take over.

“I’m just so proud of these kids. They are a great bunch and fun to work with. They all listen and are coachable.

“Our team should be proud of what (it) accomplished this year. They kept getting better and better.”

Andrew Clavey is the lone senior on this year’s roster. Everyone else who saw the court this week is slated to be back in the fold.

“Andrew was a great kid who will be tough to replace,” Kochendorfer said. “He stuck it out for four years, and honestly, those first couple were not very fun. He was a great leader and someone who helped put the team together.”

MADRID 71, ST. EDMOND 58

St. Edmond — Andrew Clavey 0-3 0-0 0, Jack McElroy 3-8 1-2 9, Grant Galles 4-7 0-0 9, Hunter Horn 9-19 2-2 23, Carson Bargfrede 5-14 4-4 17, Jakob Koopman 0-0 0-0 0, Ty Mericle 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 21-51 7-8 58.

Madrid — Jevyn Sorenson 4-5 3-3 11, Brody Buck 5-11 0-0 11, Toryn Severson 11-22 4-6 32, Fabian Ortiz-Alaniz 3-9 0-0 6, Emerson Bridgewater 5-8 1-1 11, Logan Klatt 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 28-55 8-10 71.

Quarter scores: Tied 14-14; Madrid led 34-26, 52-41. Three-point goals: St. Edmond 9-27 (Clavey 0-3, McElroy 2-6, Galles 1-3, Horn 3-6, Bargfrede 3-9), Madrid 7-18 (Buck 1-3, T. Severson 6-10, Ortiz-Alaniz 0-5). Total rebounds: St. Edmond 25, Madrid 33. Assists: St. Edmond 11, Madrid 10. Blocked shots: St. Edmond 2, Madrid 1. Steals: St. Edmond 4, Madrid 5. Turnovers: St. Edmond 10, Madrid 9. Team fouls: St. Edmond 14, Madrid 11. Fouled out: Galles.