NEWELL — The St. Edmond boys found themselves on the positive end of a thrilling finish here Thursday night.

Hunter Horn scored on a 3-footer with less than five seconds to play, giving the Gaels a 70-69 victory over Newell-Fonda in a Class 1A district semifinal.

Horn had a game-high 37 points, with none bigger than the final two he scored after a missed free throw by the Mustangs.

St. Edmond (12-11 overall) will face North Union (20-3) on Tuesday in the District 1 final. The game is currently set for Humboldt High School but could be changed pending Saturday’s girls regional outcome.

Jacksyn Hogrefe fueled a tremendous Mustang (13-10) rally, scoring 33 points. He gave Newell-Fonda a 67-63 lead with 70 seconds to go following a 3-pointer.

“We’ve been in these situations and you tell the kids that one of these days, it will go our way,” Kochendorfer said. “All the credit goes to the kids for this one. They made the plays and took advantage of the situation.

“They really hung together and came up big.”

After the Gaels forced a turnover, Jack McElroy made a free throw to cut it down to three before the Mustangs also went 1-for-1 at the line. Horn cut the deficit to 68-66 with a basket with 16 seconds to play.

On the ensuing in-bounds play, JT Laufersweiler stole the ball and was fouled, with the senior sinking both of his shots from the line to tie it up. Hogrefe was fouled on the next possession, making the first but missing the second.

St. Edmond quickly went up the court, with Sam Mericle finding Horn for the finish. Mason Hoberman had a shot at the buzzer that missed, as did the tip-in attempt.

“JT came up clutch, showing his senior leadership on the court for us,” Horn said. “We got some big stops and key rebounds when we needed them, and Sam made a great pass to set me up for the finish.

“This was a great win and one we are all going to enjoy before getting back to work for next week.”

Mericle finished with 13 points, including three 3-pointers, while Laufersweiler added nine.

“We thought if we could get off to a good start, especially being on the road, it would be important,” Kochendorfer said. “You knew they would make a run eventually, we just wanted to try to keep the lead and get momentum back as soon as we could.

“I really feel like our schedule and playing in the North Central Conference helps us in these situations. If you can be close in those games, you can use that intensity and experience.”

Max Carlson had 12 with both Guyson Lyman and Eli Roberts chipping in 11 for the Mustangs, who only graduate seniors Roberts and Austin Witzke.

The Gaels led 14-2 early in the game after hitting four 3-pointers. They were up by 11 after the first quarter and 12 at the half before Newell-Fonda cut the deficit down.

North Union knocked off Alta-Aurelia to advance, 58-39.

ST. EDMOND 70, NEWELL-FONDA 69

St. Edmond — Hunter Horn 37, Sam Mericle 13, JT Laufersweiler 9, Jakob Koopman 4, Grant Galles 3, Jack McElroy 4.

Newell-Fonda — Jacksyn Hogrefe 33, Max Carlson 12, Guyson Lyman 11, Eli Roberts 11, Mason Hoberman 2.

Quarter scores: St. Edmond led 23-10, 40-28, 55-50.