CLARION — The St. Edmond boys dropped their North Central Conference opener here Friday night to Clarion-Goldfield/Dows, 58-40.

Carson Nesheim scored 20 points and Coy Hanson added 12 for the Cowboys, while both Nevan Foss and Caden Hankins had nine.

“I’m really proud of our kids for bouncing back from Monday,” C-G/D head coach Jason Berning said. “They have worked really hard to get better.

“We shot the ball much better and our defense was really good in the first half, which helped us open up the lead. It was good to get the first win of the year.”

Sam Mericle had 20 points in his season debut to lead St. Edmond.

Clarion-Goldfield/Dows made 11 three-pointers in the win, which was the fourth in a row for them in the series.

Next action for Clarion-Goldfield/Dows will be Friday when they travel to Iowa Falls-Alden, while the Gaels head to Southeast Valley on Tuesday.