BRITT — A slow start proved costly for the St. Edmond boys here Monday night, as they were knocked out of the postseason with a 45-35 loss to homestanding West Hancock.

The Eagles (12-11 overall) used a 15-0 run through the latter stages of the second quarter and into the third to secure the win in this Class 1A, Substate 2 contest on their home floor. They advanced to Thursday night to meet Lake Mills, a 75-28 winner over West Bend-Mallard.

Playing in his final game as a Gael (7-14), Anthony Lacina scored 11 points in the fourth quarter to provide one final spark. Jackson Palmer and Hayden Mayer added eight each.

“We just weren’t hitting our shots,” SEHS head coach Adolph Kochendorfer said. “We were getting decent looks, they just weren’t falling. We turned the ball over too much.”

West Hancock relied heavily on the brother duo of Rylan and Cayson Barnes. Rylan knocked down three 3-pointers and scored a game-high 19, with Cayson adding 14.

Rylan also had eight rebounds and six steals with Cayson recording a double-double behind his 10 rebounds.

The Eagles worked their 2-3 zone to perfection, forcing nine St. Edmond turnovers in the first quarter while scoring the first nine points of the game. The Gaels did cut the deficit to six, as Mayer and Quinten McCarville combined for all seven points in the opening eight minutes.

“We really worked on going against that zone in practice, but it’s really hard to duplicate it,” Kochendorfer said. “We wanted to be aggressive, but we were just in too much of a hurry at times.”

In the second, West Hancock remained patient on offense, working the ball to find the open shooter. Rylan Barnes scored seven and Cayson Barnes added four as they closed the half with a 8-0 run to take a 24-11 lead.

That advantage would balloon to 20 behind eight straight points to start the third with four of the five starters getting into the scoring column.

Cole Schisel added six points, four rebounds and three steals for the Eagles, who recorded 13 steals as a team and forced 23 turnovers.

McCarville finished with six points and seven rebounds, while Drew Schaeffer added a bucket. Lacina also had six rebounds and two steals.

“I feel like we wore down a little late in the season,” Kochendorfer said. “We were playing with the bigger schools almost every night, and we just didn’t have the bodies to take that physically. It really played a role in how we performed the last six or seven games.

“It’s tough when you are playing hard but not coming away with wins.”

The game marked the final time in a St. Edmond uniform for Lacina, Schaeffer, Sean Flattery, Grant Heldorfer and Sean Flattery. The group shared the court as the buzzer sounded.

“This was a good bunch of seniors and I’m very proud of them,” Kochendorfer said. “We will miss them.

“Anthony had a real solid game, Drew has been fun to coach these last four year,s and Sean is a really hard worker. Grant was like having coach on the bench and in practice, and Andrew always played hard.”

WEST HANCOCK 45, ST. EDMOND 35

St. Edmond – Noah Simpson 0 0-0 0, Quinten McCarville 1 3-4 6, Jackson Palmer 3 0-0 8, Drew Schaeffer 1 0-0 2, Hayden Mayer 3 2-2 8, Anthony Lacina 4 0-0 11, Sean Flattery 0 0-2 0, Grant Heldorfer 0 0-0 0, Andrew Elbert 0 0-0 0. Totals: 12 5-8 35.

West Hancock – Rylan Barnes 6 4-8 19, Braden Walk 0 4-4 4, Cayson Barnes 6 2-3 14, Tanner Thompson 1 0-0 2, Cole Schisel 3 0-2 6, Rhett Eisenman 0 0-0 0, Logan Leerar 0 0-0 0, Max Kumsher 0 0-0 0, Ty Peterson 0 0-0 0, Evan Hinders 0 0-0 0. Totals: 16 10-17 45.

Quarter scores: West Hancock led 13-7, 24-11, 34-18. Three-point goals: St. Edmond 6 (McCarville, Palmer 2, Lacina 3), West Hancock 3 (R. Barnes 3). Total rebounds: St. Edmond 25, West Hancock 22. Steals: St. Edmond 5, West Hancock 13. Blocked shots: St. Edmond 1, West Hancock 2. Turnovers: St. Edmond 23, West Hancock 16.