—Photo by Meredith Bargfrede St. Edmond’s Hunter Horn puts up a shot against Earlham on Friday in the Gael gym.

Hunter Horn flirted with a triple-double and the top-ranked (Class 1A) St. Edmond boys took care of another opponent in a physical district semifinal here Friday night, 75-51.

Horn scored 26 points with 14 rebounds and seven blocked shots to lead the Gaels (21-2 overall), who now advance to the district final back here on Tuesday night vs. Ankeny Christian (20-4).

Grant Galles continued his strong 3-point shooting, hitting four triples and scoring 14 point, as Ty Mericle added 11 points off the bench with a pair of 3-pointers. Carson Bargfrede had seven points and six rebounds, with Jakob Koopman chipping in six points and three boards.

“It was physical and I feel like the rest of the postseason is going to be the same way,” Horn said. “But playing in the North Central Conference against schools like Clear Lake prepared us for this.

“I feel like in these physical games, we almost have the advantage because we’re used to it.”

Horn and Koopman combined for all 15 points in the first quarter, adding five rebounds, four blocks and a steal to help St. Edmond take an early advantage on Earlham (13-11), as they never trailed.

The Cardinals were led by Griffin Messer’s 23 points, but nobody else scored over six. Earlham is coached by former Iowa Hawkeye and The Citadel player Austin Ash, who was a Mount Vernon standout in high school.

“We knew going in that they liked to be physical, but I thought we really matched that,” SEHS head coach Adolph Kochendorfer said. “We wanted to run them off the 3-point line and we did a nice job of that early on. They got some looks, but they came later in the game.

“Grant continues to be hot, Ty knocked down some key shots and Hunter really did a tremendous job of moving with the basketball and getting good looks.”

Galles sank two straight 3-pointers and both Jack McElroy and Mericle followed during a 12-0 run that pushed the lead to 16 early in the second quarter. By the third, St. Edmond was well in control, holding a 23-point advantage on the heels of a 11-0 scoring burst.

With the IHSAA making the change to district finals being held in the home gym of the higher-seed, the Gaels will host for a third consecutive postseason game.

“It feels great to have another home game,” Horn said. “The atmosphere at home is awesome and the crowd is always into it. It always helps us when it’s loud.

“I think we have one of the best atmospheres in the state.”

Ankeny Christian advanced with a 50-49 victory over Southeast Warren.

ST. EDMOND 75, EARLHAM 51

St. Edmond — Jakob Koopman 2 2-2 6, Jack McElroy 1 0-0 3, Grant Galles 5 0-0 14, Hunter Horn 10 6-9 26, Carson Bargfrede 3 1-1 7, Ty Mericle 3 3-3 11, Logan Hanson 1 2-4 4, Jackson Calvert 0 0-0 0, Thomas Ehn 0 0-0 0, Griffin Laufersweiler 0 0-0 0, Jacob Nieland 0 0-0 0, Jamison Baker 0 0-0 0, Jacob Moore 0 0-0 0, Thomas Knobbe 0 1-2 0, Garrett Royster 1 0-0 2. Totals: 26 15-23 75.

Earlham — Brady Reynolds 2 2-2 6, Griffin Messer 7 6-7 23, Carter Frank 1 2-4 4, Blaine Tiedemann 1 0-0 3, Corbin Etter 0 0-2 0, Brody Coates 0 0-0 0, Austen Rodgers 0 0-0 0, Coy Swain 0 2-2 2, Gabe Lockner 1 0-0 3, Payton Dickson 0 0-0 0, Jackson Koberg 1 0-0 3, Cash Eitel 1 0-0 3, Alex Kosloske 0 2-2 2, Reed Williams 0 1-2 1. Totals: 14 15-21 51.

Quarter scores: St. Edmond led 15-9, 31-16, 58-28. Three-point goals: St. Edmond 7 (Galles 4, Mericle 2, McElroy 1), Earlham 7 (Messer 3, Tiedeman 1, Lockner 1, Dickson 1, Eitel 1). Total rebounds: St. Edmond 42, Earlham 30. Steals: St. Edmond 9, Earlham 4. Blocked shots: St. Edmond 7, Earlham 0. Turnovers: St. Edmond 10, Earlham 14. Team fouls: St. Edmond 21, Earlham 16. Technical foul: Earlham bench.