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

St. Edmond head boys coach Adolph Kochendorfer had nothing but praise for Clarion-Goldfield/Dows after the Cowboys bested the Gaels here Friday night.

Sam Urness led three Clarion-Goldfield/Dows players in double figures with 15 points, helping the Cowboys to a 51-38 victory.

Will Weidemann had 13 points, five rebounds and two blocks, with Rhett Darland adding 12 and six boards for C-G/D (1-1 overall, 1-0 in North Central Conference).

“If (the Cowboys) play like that, they’ll win the NCC,” Kochendorfer said. “They played that good. They have four senior starters and a good group of kids that come in off the bench and do what they are asked to do.

“We played right into their hands.”

The Gaels (0-1, 0-1), making their season debut, committed 22 turnovers, with 14 coming in the first half as Clarion-Goldfield/Dows claimed a 22-19 lead at the break. Urness had 13 in the first 16 minutes, including nine in the opening quarter.

Leading the way fro St. Edmond was Andrew Gibb, as the junior came off the bench to score 12 points. Gibb was cleared to practice earlier this week following a thumb injury suffered during the football season.

Will Woodruff, returning from a foot injury that limited his season a year ago, recorded a double-double with 10 points and 12 rebounds. The senior also had three steals and a block.

“You could tell we haven’t had a lot of time in practice with Andrew and Will at full-speed,” Kochendorfer said. “But that will work itself out. What I was more concerned with was our lack of hustle.

“We need to get more scrappy. Our guards need to rebound and we need to do a better job in coming up with loose balls and second-chance scoring opportunities.”

The Gaels claimed a 17-15 lead with 7:15 to go in the second quarter following buckets by Gibb and Woodruff. That, though, would be the last time they were in control, as the Cowboys went on a 15-6 run. Clarion-Goldfield/Dows pushed its lead to as many as 11 in the third quarter.

Jackson Kochendorfer had seven points and Jed Tracy added six, as the two made all three of St. Edmond’s 3-pointers. Sean Flaherty added six rebounds.

For the Cowboys, Urness had six boards and two steals.

Next action for the Gaels will be Tuesday when they host Southeast Valley. Clarion-Goldfield/Dows is off until next Friday when they host Iowa Falls-Alden.

CLARION-GOLDFIELD/DOWS 51, ST. EDMOND 38

Clarion-Goldfield/Dows — Sam Urness 7-13 0-0 15, Bryce Tegtemeyer 1-3 0-0 2, Rhett Darland 3-9 5-6 12, Zach Martin 2-8 0-2 4, Will Weidemann 5-13 2-3 13, Alex Machuca 0-0 0-0 0, Max Powers 0-1 0-0 0, Riley State 1-1 0-0 3, Brier Boyd 0-0 2-2 2, Jayce Weidemann 0-0 0-0 0, Ben Rudolph 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 19-48 9-13 51.

St. Edmond — Mitchell Rasmussen 0-0 0-0 0, Jed Tracy 2-6 0-0 6, Jackson Kochendorfer 2-11 2-2 7, Will Woodruff 5-10 0-2 10, Sean Flaherty 1-2 1-2 3, Isaac Lursen 0-1 0-0 0, Andrew Gibb 5-9 2-3 12, Drew Schaefer 0-2 0-0 0, Sean Newell 0-1 0-0 0, Connor Bocken 0-0 0-0 0, Nick Lawler 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 15-43 5-9 38.

Quarter scores: Clarion-Goldfield/Dows led 15-13, 22-19, 34-27. 3-point goals: Clarion-Goldfield/Dows 4-13 (Urness 1-2, Darland 1-4, Martin 0-2, Weidemann 1-4, State 1-1); St. Edmond 3-14 (Tracy 2-2, Kochendorfer 1-5, Gibb 0-3, Schaefer 0-2). Total rebounds: Clarion-Goldfield/Dows 32, St. Edmond 27. Steals: Clarion-Goldfield/Dows 6, St. Edmond 8. Blocked shots: Clarion-Goldfield/Dows 2, St. Edmond 1. Turnovers: Clarion-Goldfield/Dows 17, St. Edmond 22. Team fouls: Clarion-Goldfield/Dows 12, St. Edmond 20.