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Gael boys move on

ALGONA — When scouting the St. Edmond boys, it is quite evident that option A and option B are seniors Andrew Gibb and Jackson Kochendorfer.

Opposing teams know that, as well as Gael head coach Adolph Kochendorfer.

That’s why Kochendorfer was so vocal in pushing the rest of his players to realize how important Tuesday night’s Class 1A, District 3 semifinal vs. Mason City Newman would be for them.

Jed Tracy scored 11 points and dished out eight assists off the bench, Sean Newell added 11 and Drew Schaeffer had eight to lead the Gaels to an 85-80 victory over the Knights.

St. Edmond (12-10 overall) advances to a district final in Garner against Bishop Garrigan (17-6). The Golden Bears topped West Hancock last night, 76-38.

“(Myself and assistant coach Nick Clark) told them that we would need everybody to bring their best game to beat a quality team like Newman,” Kochendorfer said. “It wasn’t just going to be one kid or two; we had to have everybody that stepped on the floor contributing.

“This is a really great win and I’m happy for the kids. They played great.”

Tracy stepped in during a key point in the second quarter and drained a pair of 3-pointers, helping seal the victory with three free throws in the fourth.

“Hitting that first shot was an amazing feeling, not much can come close to that,” Tracy said. “But my confidence all just came down to playing hard. I played hard and things started to go my way. I wasn’t thinking about my shot at all and they started to fall.

“This was definitely one of the most fun games I have ever played.”

Gibb scored a game-high 29 points, with Kochendorfer adding 22 and nine rebounds. Kochendorfer also became the school’s career leader for made triples, pushing his total to 175.

“Andrew had some big shots, Jackson had a big night on and Mitchell (Rasmussen) played a great floor game,” Kochendorfer said. “But Jed was so big for us. He came in and gave us a spark when we needed it. He knocked down big shots, took a couple of big charges and was confident with his passing.”

For the Knights (19-3), Josh Fitzgerald scored 27 points and Brady Gatton added 21. After falling behind by as many as 16, Newman cut the deficit to four with just under two minutes to go before Kochendorfer and Tracy sank nine shots from the line.

St. Edmond and Bishop Garrigan squared off in the season opener, with the Golden Bears posting a 62-50 victory.

ST. EDMOND 85, MASON CITY NEWMAN 80

St. Edmond — Mitchell Rasmussen 0 0-0 0, Drew Schaeffer 3 0-0 8, Andrew Gibb 13 2-3 29, Sean Newell 5 1-2 11, Jackson Kochendorfer 6 6-6 22, Jed Tracy 3 3-4 11, Cael Kolacia 2 0-0 4, Connor Bocken 0 0-0 0. Totals: 32 12-15 85.

Mason City Newman — Isaac Fettkether 1 0-1 2, Josh Fitzgerald 9 9-9 27, Brady Gatton 10 4-4 24, Merritt McCardle 5 2-4 13, Jacob Schutt 4 2-7 10, Sam Kratz 0 2-2 2, Evan Paulus 1 0-0 2, Jack McGuire 0 0-0 0. Totals: 30 19-27 80.

Quarter scores: St. Edmond led 19-17, 39-31, 60-52. Three-point goals: St. Edmond 9 (Schaeffer 2, Gibb 1, Kochendorfer 4, Tracy 2), Mason City Newman 1 (McCardle 1). Rebounds: St. Edmond 30, Mason City Newman 26. Turnovers: St. Edmond 18, Mason City Newman 14. Fouls: St. Edmond 22, Mason City Newman 16. Fouled out: Rasmussen, McCardle.

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