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Gael boys lose in OT

-Messenger photo by Britt Kudla Will Woodruff of St. Edmond shoots over Clarion-Goldfield/Dows on Friday

St. Edmond’s season didn’t come to a crashing halt here Saturday night following a 72-69 overtime loss to Des Moines Christian.

While the Lions celebrated wildly on the SEHS court after storming back from a 14-point deficit, Gael head coach Adolph Kochendorfer saw the silver lining in the defeat.

“We are a young team and that showed up,” Kochendorfer said. “I’ve been doing this for so long that the heartbreak of losses like this don’t get me down as much as they used to.

“I wanted to win the game, especially for these kids, but they left it all out there, so you can’t fault them. We’ll use this as a learning experience and be better for being put in this situation.”

The Lions (6-0 overall) used a 27-point fourth quarter to get back into the contest and even had a chance to win it late before settling for overtime.

In the extra period, junior Justin Groen scored five points, including a huge 3-pointer that put Des Moines Christian up 69-65 with 40 seconds left. Groen scored all 13 of his points in the final 12 minutes.

Isaac Prewitt had 25 points and Seth Juhl added 13 for the Lions. Prewitt and Juhl had seven of Des Moines Christian’s 10 steals.

Leading the way for St. Edmond (2-2) was Andrew Gibb, as the junior tied his career-high with 28 points, including 22 after halftime. Jackson Kochendorfer had 17 points, three rebounds and three assists, and Will Woodruff finished with 12 points, 15 rebounds and three assists.

“We had that lead (the Gaels were up 51-37 early in the fourth) and they started to trap us,” Kochendorfer said. “We turned the ball over and that allowed (the Lions) to get back in it. Looking back over it, though, I wouldn’t do anything different because we took shots that we are capable of making.

“It didn’t work out, but it was an experience that we can use as we move forward.”

St. Edmond still led with under three minutes to go when Prewitt was fouled shooting a 3-pointer. The senior knocked down all three and gave Des Moines Christian a lead.

Prewitt was 12-for-13 from the line, as the Lions went 21-for-27 as a team. The Gaels, meanwhile, were 5 of 16 from the charity stripe and committed 24 turnovers.

“We’re not a bad shooting team from the free throw line,” Kochendorfer said. “We just have to be mentally tough. That goes for the turnovers too. Our guards are still learning and they’ll make mistakes, but we can improve upon that.”

Senior Sean Flaherty added eight points and six rebounds, with sophomore guard Jed Tracy grabbing four boards.

The Gaels return to action on Tuesday when they travel to Humboldt for a North Central Conference doubleheader.

DES MOINES CHRISTIAN 72, ST. EDMOND 69 (OT)

St. Edmond — Jed Tracy 0-4 0-0 0, Andrew Gibb 12-16 3-5 28, Jackson Kochendorfer 6-16 0-0 17, Will Woodruff 5-6 2-11 12, Sean Flaherty 4-5 0-0 8, Isaac Lursen 0-0 0-0 0, Drew Schaeffer 0-1 0-0 0, Sean Newell 1-1 0-0 2. Totals: 28-49 5-16 69.

Des Moines Christian — 2-6 1-2 7, Matt Horstman 1-2 0-0 2, Seth Juhl 5-15 3-4 13, Trey Johnson 3-5 2-3 9, Isaac Prewitt 6-19 12-13 25, Jackson Waring 0-1 0-0 0, Justin Groen 5-8 2-3 13, Jordan Harris 1-1 0-0 3, Drew Shisler 0-1 0-0 0. Totals: 23-58 21-27 72.

Quarter scores: St. Edmond led 14-8, Des Moines Christian led 30-28, St. Edmond led 49-37. Three-point goals: St. Edmond 6-18 (Tracy 0-1, Gibb 1-3, Kochendorfer 5-13, Schaeffer 0-1); Des Moines Christian 5-19 (B. Hewitt 2-3, Juhl 0-2, Johnson 0-1, I. Prewitt 1-9, Waring 0-1, Groen 1-1, Harris 1-1, Shisler 0-1). Total rebounds: St. Edmond 36, Des Moines Christian 26. Steals: St. Edmond 3, Des Moines Christian 10. Turnovers: St. Edmond 24, Des Moines Christian 13. Blocked shots: St. Edmond 1, Des Moines Christian 1. Team fouls: St. Edmond 23, Des Moines Christian 18.

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