Messenger photo by Britt Kudla Connor Bocken of St. Edmond shoots around Eagle Grove’s Fransico Gonzalez on Monday. For more photos, please visit CU.messengernews.net

St. Edmond’s triumph against Eagle Grove on Monday night meant a lot more than just a victory in the win column.

The Gaels (2-7 overall) took care of their former North Central Conference rival by a final of 64-25.

It was St. Edmond’s first win in over a month, and started a busy week for the Gaels. They’ll host Manson Northwest Webster (1-9) on Thursday, then travel to Iowa Falls-Alden (6-2) on Friday night.

It was also a huge confidence boost for St. Edmond, which had a strong shooting night from the field. The Gaels were 26 of 51 (51 percent) from the floor, connecting on 11 three-point tries.

“This will definitely help a lot with our confidence,” said St. Edmond head coach Adolph Kochendorfer. “We have a busy week, so to start it with a win helps.”

Junior Cael Kolacia had a strong opening eight minutes, scoring seven of the Gaels’ first 13 points. St. Edmond kept a torrid shooting pace in the second quarter, hitting 9 of 14 field goals (64 percent) to build a 35-14 halftime advantage.

The Gaels were able to work their offense, using an inside-outside look while patiently making the extra pass.

“We came out early and played well,” Kochendorfer said. “We set the tone. We were patient.”

Senior Connor Bocken put on a shooting clinic. Bocken finished with a game-high 20 points, going 6-for-8 from behind the arc.

Bocken had an 11-point second quarter with three triples.

Sophomore Hayden Mayer had an efficient eight points, going 4-for-5 from the field. Drew Schaeffer and Anthony Lacina came off the bench with six points each.

“I thought we were able to spread the ball around and look for our shot,” Kochendorfer said. “We were able to find the open man consistently.”

Eagle Grove struggled to find open looks, as the Gael defense forced them into 18 turnovers and the Eagles only put up 35 field goal attempts.

Junior Chase Mason paced the Eagles with 11 points. He was 5-for-11 from the field, and scored seven of the Eagles’ 12 second-quarter points.

The Gaels are back in action on Thursday when they host Manson Northwest Webster. They will travel to Iowa Falls-Alden on Friday.

ST. EDMOND 64, EAGLE GROVE 25

St. Edmond — Connor Bocken 7-10 0-0 20, Jed Tracy 2-5 0-0 4, Cael Kolacia 5-9 1-1 13, Hayden Mayer 4-5 0-0 8, Brock Stanek 0-3 0-0 0, Drew Schaeffer 3-8 0-0 6, Jerris Duncan 1-6 0-0 2, Quinten McCarville 0-1 0-0 0, Jackson Bemrich 0-0 0-0, Anthony Lacina 2-2 0-0 6, Ethan Lursen 1-2 0-0 2, Charlie Shelly 1-1 0-0 3, Sean Flattery 0-1 0-0 0, Kase Baker 0-1 0-0 0. Totals: 26-54 1-1 64.

Eagle Grove — Enzo Gebara 1-4 0-0 2, Fransico Gonzalez 1-2 0-0 3, Jacob Darland 0-8 0-0 0, Austin Purcell 1-5 0-0 3, Chase Mason 5-11 0-0 11, Benjamin Olson 0-2 0-0 0, Thomas Matthes 1-1 0-0 2, Caden Butler 1-2 0-0 2, Desmond Weber 0-0 2-2 2, Tyler Hansen 0-0 0-0 0, Jonathan Koester 0-0 0-0 0, Eric Hernandez 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 10-35 2-2 25.

Quarter scores: SE led 13-2, 35-14, 42-18. Three-point goals: St. Edmond 11-23 (Bocken 6-8, Lacina 2-2, Kolacia 2-3, Shelly 1-1, Baker 0-1, Flattery 0-1, Lursen 0-1, McCarville 0-1, Schaeffer 0-2, Duncan 0-3); Eagle Grove 3-13 (Gonzalez 1-1, Purcell 1-4, Mason 1-4, Gebara 0-1, Butler 0-1, Olson 0-2); Total rebounds: St. Edmond 27, Eagle Grove 15; Turnovers: St. Edmond 8, Eagle Grove 15; Total fouls: St. Edmond 7, Eagle Grove 3.