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SE boys ride shooting binge

-Messenger photo by Britt Kudla Charlie Doyle of St. Edmond shoots a three point against Hampton-Dumont on Friday

The St. Edmond boys passed up good looks for great ones against Humboldt on Friday night.

The Wildcats, meanwhile, didn’t show nearly enough patience offensively, according to their coach.

The end result was a 72-51 victory for the Gaels, who swished a season-high 13 three-point baskets in winning their third consecutive contest to off-set a recent three-game losing streak.

Andrew Gibb tied a career high with 21 points and fellow sharp-shooter Charlie Doyle added 17 for St. Edmond (7-5 overall, 5-2 in the North Central Conference), which used a 30-6 run to close the second quarter and open the third in clinching a season sweep of the Wildcats (5-6, 3-3).

”We’ve really focused on trying to slow things down and not let a frustrating possession or two (balloon into) something more,” SEHS head coach Adolph Kochendorfer said. ”(During the three-game slide), we had a tendency to get down on ourselves when things weren’t going our way, and we were being way too impatient as a result.

”When we work (the offense) inside out and share the basketball, good things can and will happen. For the most part, I was happy with the shots we took and how we stayed on the same page offensively. And I think our defense was much better against them this time around (than in the 84-73 win at Humboldt last month).”

Junior post player Will Woodruff pulled down 18 rebounds for the Gaels, who had been off for a full week due to Tuesday’s weather postponement. Humboldt, meanwhile, played its second game in as many nights; head coach Jason Hoag’s squad dropped a 79-71 decision at Clear Lake on Thursday.

”I don’t think (fatigue) was as much of a factor; St. Edmond just did a nice job of forcing us out of our comfort zone,” Hoag said. ”We settled and shot too early in a lot of our possessions, especially during that stretch (in the second and third quarters, where the Gaels pulled away).

”They defended us well. Slow starts have kind of been our M.O. (the Wildcats have trailed at halftime in six straight games). We have to be more efficient on offense and show more energy on defense (Humboldt has allowed at least 65 points in all six of its losses).”

The Gaels fell behind 5-0 early and led by only a single basket at the end of the first period. It was 19-18 St. Edmond with 4:49 left in the half when things started to unravel for the Wildcats.

Humboldt didn’t make a field goal for the final 5:57 of the first half, then surrendered 18 of the first 22 points to start the third period as the Gaels went up 49-23.

Gibb, just a sophomore, and Doyle — a senior — drilled five triples a piece, combining to shoot 59 percent from behind the arc (10 of 17). Doyle also dished out a team-high eight assists.

Gibb is 29 of 52 from deep this season (56 percent) and 40-for-67 overall in his young career (60 percent). Gibb’s accuracy ranks second in the entire state for players who have attempted more than 20 three-pointers on the year.

”Andrew and Charlie both played well, not just because of (their accuracy), but they made good decisions with the basketball,” Kochendorfer said. ”Will is very talented and athletic; Will and (fellow post) Jake (Heidenreich) struggled a little bit (going a combined 3-for-13 from the field), but they made up for it on the glass (Heidenreich contributed 10 rebounds).

”We were rusty early from having a week off, but once we got the ball rolling, things started to click.”

Sophomore Calvin Carlson paced Humboldt with 13 points. Leading scorer Devon Clark, who averages nearly 14 points per game and had 18 against the Gaels in their first meeting, was held to six points on 1 of 8 shooting.

A Clark three-pointer did pull the Wildcats back within 58-43 with 5:49 remaining in regulation, but that was as close as they would get the rest of the way.

”I told our guys I was proud of them for fighting back (after falling behind by 26),” Hoag said. ”They’re not going to quit. They’re going to keep competing. We just can’t dig ourselves that kind of hole and have a chance, especially on the road against a quality opponent.”

St. Edmond squares off with Iowa Falls-Alden (6-5, 4-3) in a makeup contest at 6:30 p.m. on Saturday, with Kochendorfer a win away from 500 for his career. Humboldt visits Webster City to face the NCC-leading Lynx (8-3, 7-1) on Tuesday.

ST. EDMOND 72, HUMBOLDT 51

St. Edmond — Andrew Gibb 7-13 2-2 21, Charlie Doyle 6-11 0-0 17, Will Woodruff 3-9 3-7 9, Matt Bennett 2-2 0-0 5, Jake Heidenreich 0-4 0-0 0, Jackson Kochendorfer 3-8 0-0 8, Nick Simpson 3-5 0-0 6, Sean Flaherty 2-2 0-0 4, Mitchell Rasmussen 1-1 0-0 2, Isaac Lursen 0-2 0-0 0, Nick O’Brien 0-2 0-0 0, Patrick Bocken 0-0 0-0 0, Sean Newell 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 27-59 5-9 72.

Humboldt — Calvin Carlson 4-10 2-3 13, Drew Thomas 4-6 0-2 8, Devon Clark 1-8 3-4 6, Ryan Courtney 2-3 0-0 4, Owen Terwilliger 1-4 2-2 4, Jamison Heinz 4-10 0-0 9, Isaac Thurm 1-1 3-4 5, Jack Arndt 0-2 2-2 2, Jared Diesburg 0-1 0-0 0, John Wergeland 0-1 0-0 0, Quinn Christensen 0-1 0-0 0, Trevor Satern 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 17-47 12-19 51.

Quarter scores: St. Edmond led 15-13, 31-19, 56-40. Three-point goals: St. Edmond 13-28 (Doyle 5-8, Gibb 5-9, Kochendorfer 2-7, Bennett 1-1, Nick O’Brien 0-2, Simpson 0-1); Humboldt 5-16 (Carlson 3-6, Heinz 1-3, Clark 1-6, Thomas 0-1). Turnovers: St. Edmond 10, Iowa Falls-Alden 10. Total fouls: St. Edmond 16, Iowa Falls-Alden 10.

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