Messenger photo by Britt Kudla: St. Edmond's Carson Bargfrede scores against a slew of West Hancock defenders on Monday in the Gael gym. For more photos, please visit CU.messengernews.net

Even a well-oiled machine needs to a tune-up every now and again.

The top-ranked (Class 1A) St. Edmond boys used halftime here Monday night as a pit stop on their way to a 75-36 victory over West Hancock in Class 1A district play.

With the win, the Gaels (20-2 overall) advance to face Earlham (13-10) — a 63-33 winner over Colo-Nesco — inside the SEHS gym Thursday night in a district semifinal. Tip is set for 7 p.m.

Hunter Horn scored 29 points and Grant Galles buried a career-high seven 3-pointers on his way to a 25-point performance to lead St. Edmond.

While the final score was as lopsided as it looked, the Eagles (3-18) hung around for the first 16 minutes thanks to six made triples of their own.

“Credit (assistant coach and former Gael player Mitchell) Rasmussen,” SEHS head coach Adolph Kochendorfer said. “I went into the locker room at the half hot under the collar and was pretty fired up and screaming. But Coach Rasmussen calmed me down and reminded me we just needed to shore up our defense and adjust things a little bit.

“We told them to keep (West Hancock) out of the paint and we would be fine.”

The Gaels allowed just 10 points over the final 16 minutes, using a 27-5 run in the third to overwhelm the Eagles. Horn scored 15 during that stretch, including 13 as part of a 17-0 burst, as Galles knocked down two 3-pointers and tallied eight in the quarter.

“Grant has really been putting in extra work after practice on his shot,” Kochendorfer said. “He hasn’t been happy with himself over the past few games, so it was great to see him have a performance like this.

“We know he is capable of it, and now he has his confidence back.”

Horn finished with nine rebounds. Jack McElroy added four points, 10 rebounds, eight assists and three steals. Jakob Koopman chipped in eight points, five rebounds, three steals and a block.

Carson Bargfrede tallied seven points, five rebounds and four steals.

The winner between St. Edmond and Earlham advances to the district final on Tuesday, Feb. 24, vs. either Ankeny Christian (19-4) or Southeast Warren (17-6).

ST. EDMOND 75, WEST HANCOCK 36

St. Edmond — Jakob Koopman 4-11 0-0 8, Jack McElroy 2-5 0-0 4, Grant Galles 9-14 0-0 25, Hunter Horn 11-15 7-11 29, Carson Bargfrede 3-11 1-4 7, Ty Mericle 0-4 0-0 0, Logan Hanson 0 0-0 0, Jackson Calvert 0-1 0-0 0, Griffin Laufersweiler 0-0 0-0 0, Thomas Ehn 1-1 0-0 2, Jacob Moore 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 30-62 8-15 75.

West Hancock — Nathan Bixel 1-6 0-0 3, Paxton Johnson 2-9 3-4 8, Carson Bruns 2-3 0-0 5, Keagan Albertson 4-10 0-0 10, Cooper McLaughlin 2-9 0-0 6, Kaden VanEpps 1-1 0-2 2, Ty Harms 1-2 0-0 2, Caiden Squier 0-1 0-0 0, Easton Johnson 0-0 0-0 0, Cameron Fox 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 13-41 3-6 36.

Quarter scores: St. Edmond led 27-13, 36-26, 63-31. Three-point goals: St. Edmond 7-24 (Koopman 0-2, McElroy 0-1, Galles 7-10, Horn 0-1, Bargfrede 0-6, Mericle 0-3, Calvert 0-1), West Hancock 7-22 (Bixel 1-5, Johnson 1-4, Bruns 1-2, Albertson 2-5, McLaughlin 2-5, Squier 0-1). Total rebounds: St. Edmond 43, West Hancock 25. Steals: St. Edmond 14, West Hancock 2. Blocked shots: St. Edmond 3, West Hancock 0. Turnovers: St. Edmond 3, West Hancock 17. Team fouls: St. Edmond 10, West Hancock 14.