×

Gael boys can’t stop No. 2 Kuemper

-Messenger photo by Britt Kudla Andrew Gibb of St. Edmond shoots around Hampton-Dumont's Ethan Spurgeon on Friday

The St. Edmond boys are experiencing exactly what a “grinding” season is all about.

After winning six in a row, the Gaels dropped their second straight in as many nights, falling to No. 2 (Class 2A) Carroll Kuemper Saturday, 64-44.

To make matters worse, St. Edmond (10-7 overall) found out it will be without the services of Will Woodruff moving forward, as the junior suffered a Jones fracture in his foot Friday in a loss to Iowa Falls-Alden.

The Knights (13-2) took advantage, using their size and outside shooting to improve to 10-1 in the last 11. South Dakota State University signee Matthew Dentlinger had 24 points, 11 rebounds and two blocked shots, as the 6-foot-7 senior also knocked down two of Kuemper’s nine three-pointers in the game.

“They are as good as it gets,” SEHS head coach Adolph Kochendorfer said. “I would have loved to see Will and our team battle them full-strength.”

Andrew Gibb had 10 points to lead the Gaels, with eight of them coming in the fourth. Charlie Doyle added six assists and seven rebounds, but had just two points.

Kochendorfer admitted after the game that they will be a different team without Woodruff, who was leading SEHS in assists and rebounds as the postseason approaches. The veteran coach, who collected his 500th career win earlier this year, is thankful his team has five more games to “re-group.”

“That’s the positive in all this,” he said. “We played some kids (last night) that are going to get more and more minutes if they show effort. We’ve got to be a scrappy team here without Will and do all the little things if we want to win games.

“It’s going to take some time, but I was happy with the effort I saw (vs. Kuemper). This was a big challenge and the younger kids who saw the court stepped up. Everybody who played grabbed at least two rebounds and that’s a huge positive we can take from this.”

St. Edmond will try to do just that on Tuesday when they host North Central Conference leader Webster City.

CARROLL KUEMPER 64,

ST. EDMOND 44

St. Edmond — Andrew Gibb 2-5 6-6 10, Nick Simpson 4-7 0-0 8, Jake Heidenreich 3-7 0-0 6, Charlie Doyle 1-10 0-1 2, Sean Flaherty 1-2 0-0 2, Sean Newell 1-4 0-0 2, Jackson Kochendorfer 4-11 0-0 12, Jed Tracy 1-3 0-0 2, Isaac Lursen 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 17-49 6-7 44.

Carroll Kuemper — Von Kraus 1-3 1-2 3, Parker Badding 3-10 2-2 10, Samuel Auen 3-8 0-0 9, Matthew Dentlinger 10-12 0-0 24, Jacob Schaefer 1-8 1-2 3, Nathan Mertz 1-3 2-2 5, Jared Tigges 0-2 2-4 2, William Badding 3-6 1-1 8, Gage Gunnerson 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 22-52 11-15. 64.

Quarter scores: Carroll Kuemper led 15-7, 31-14, 48-30. Three-point goals: St. Edmond 4-18 (Gibb 0-1, Simpson 0-1, Doyle 0-4, Kochendorfer 4-10, Tracy 0-2); Carroll Kuemper 9-21 (P. Badding 2-5, Auen 3-7, Dentlinger 2-3, Schaefer 0-2, Mertz 1-3, W. Badding 1-1). Total rebounds: St. Edmond 27, Carroll Kuemper 35. Steals: St. Edmond 3, Carroll Kuemper 5. Blocked shots: St. Edmond 1, Carroll Kuemper 3. Turnovers: St. Edmond 15, Carroll Kuemper 11. Team fouls: St. Edmond 15, Carroll Kuemper 11.

Newsletter

Today's breaking news and more in your inbox

I'm interested in (please check all that apply)
Are you a paying subscriber to the newspaper? *

Starting at $4.62/week.

Subscribe Today