The top-ranked (Class 1A) St. Edmond boys were on early upset alert here on Thursday night vs. Clarion-Goldfield/Dows.

Down by as many as four points early, the Gaels ultimately found their rhythm behind seniors Hunter Horn and Carson Bargfrede, closing out the week with an 80-49 North Central Conference win that was moved up 24 hours to predicted frigid weather conditions on Friday.

Horn moved within 25 points of tying Andrew Gibb for the school’s career scoring record, finishing with a game-high 28 points and 11 rebounds. Bargfrede added 19 points, while classmate Jack McElroy joined them in double figures with 11.

Seniors Jakob Koopman and Grant Galles contributed a combined 14 points, nine rebounds, five steals for St. Edmond (12-2 overall, 7-1 in the league).

For the Cowboys (9-4, 4-4), Huxley Lingenfelter had 14 and Chaz Lane finished with 13.

“Defense and rebounding,” SEHS head coach Adolph Kochendorfer said. “When we started to do those two things, we got on track.”

That they did, using a 42-11 run over the second and third quarters to take control of the contest by flipping an 18-17 deficit into a 59-29 lead.

“Give Clarion-Goldfield/Dows credit because they came out and really were aggressive,” Kochendorfer said. “They did a much better job rebounding the basketball than we did and they were attacking. But I liked that our kids settled down, didn’t get rattled and started to play basketball like we know they can.

“That’s the mark of a veteran, experienced group focused on the task at hand.”

Horn had 16 during the pivotal run and Bargfrede added 13, as McElroy took advantage of his opportunities by scoring eight of his 11 in that stretch as well.

After starting the week with a tough road loss to No. 4 (1A) Bishop Garrigan, St. Edmond has bounced back by scoring 161 points in two games while limiting the opponents to an average of 42.

“We’ve got kids who can do a variety of things out there for us — and do them very, very well,” Kochendorfer said. “Grant has really been playing well on defense over the past month, Jack continues to do a fantastic job of finding the open man, and Jakob is just all over the court.

“Those three are all capable of scoring, but it’s great when we get them contributing in other ways.”

The Gaels return to action on Tuesday at Algona followed by a road trip to West Bend-Mallard on Thursday. They return home on Friday, Jan. 30, vs. Hampton-Dumont/CAL.

Horn will enter next week with 1,514 points in 65 games. Gibb scored 1,539 in 76 games played.

Clarion-Goldfield/Dows will look to rebound on Tuesday when the Lions host second-ranked (3A) Clear Lake.

ST. EDMOND 80, CLARION-GOLDFIELD/DOWS 49

St. Edmond — Jakob Koopman 3 2-2 8, Jack McElroy 4 1-3 11, Grant Galles 3 0-0 6, Hunter Horn 13 1-1 28, Carson Bargfrede 7 1-2 19, Ty Mericle 0 0-0 0, Logan Hanson 1 0-0 2, Griffin Laufersweiler 0 0-0 0, Garrett Royster 0 0-0 0, Jacob Moore 3 0-0 6. Totals: 34 5-8 80.

Clarion-Goldfield/Dows — Huxley Lingenfelter 6 0-0 14, Tristan Kakacek 2 0-0 4, JD Morrical 2 2-2 7, Chaz Lane 4 5-7 13, Paxton Lingenfelter 0 0-0 0, Johnny Lomeli 1 1-2 3, Ethan Hasty 0 0-0 0, Jacob Ruba 0 0-0 0, McCoy Yackle 2 0-0 6, Jairo Santis 0 0-0 0, Maxton Downing 1 0-0 2, Crew Garza 0 0-0 0. Totals: 18 8-11 49.

Quarter scores: Clarion-Goldfield/Dows led 18-17; St. Edmond led 34-20, 64-31. Three-point goals: St. Edmond 7 (Bargfrede 4, McElroy 2, Horn 1), Clarion-Goldfield/Dows 5 (H. Lingenfelter 2, Yackle 2, Morrical 1). Total rebounds: St. Edmond 38, Clarion-Goldfield/Dows 26. Steals: St. Edmond 11, Clarion-Goldfield/Dows 4. Blocked shots: St. Edmond 2, Clarion-Goldfield/Dows 0. Team fouls: St. Edmond 12, Clarion-Goldfield/Dows 10. Turnovers: St. Edmond 7, Clarion-Goldfield/Dows 16.