Messenger photo by Britt Kudla: Hunter Horn of St. Edmond shoots against Woodbine in a Class 1A quarterfinal on Tuesday night in Des Moines.

DES MOINES — For Hunter Horn, there was never a doubt in his mind that he was returning to the court inside the Casey’s Center here on Tuesday afternoon.

After coming down awkwardly on his ankle during the first quarter of a Class 1A quarterfinal vs. Woodbine, Horn gingerly walked to the sidelines after doing all he could to remain in the game.

Following a few minutes with his father — former Iowa Central head athletic trainer and current athletic director Guy Horn — the senior all-stater returned to the floor, scoring a team-high 17 points to help lead top-ranked St. Edmond to the semifinals, 60-44.

“I had some flashbacks,” said Horn, who suffered a similar injury during his junior season. “But we taped it up and called it good.

“There was just no way I was sitting anything out.”

The Gaels broke open a 12-12 game in the second, outscoring Woodbine by 13 to take control. Horn had 10 of his 17 in that first 16 minutes after scoring the first six points for his team to start the contest.

St. Edmond’s defense held Woodbine to just one made 3-pointer on 17 attempts, forcing 18 turnovers. They also held their own on the glass after being dominated there early, as four players had at least five rebounds — led by nine from Horn.

Adolph Kochendorfer, coaching the Gaels for the final time this week after announcing his retirement during the season, admitted that it “was definitely hard” seeing Horn go down.

“But you just have to play through it,” he said. “Thankfully, he was able to come back in and perform at his usual level.”

Horn and the Gaels dealt with a serious injury last year after Jakob Koopman went down in a substate final win over Bishop Garrigan. That forced St. Edmond to alter its rotation going into state, though Koopman did play in both games.

St. Edmond will now face Burlington Notre Dame back here on Thursday for a spot in the state championship game at 2 p.m. The Gaels lost to eventual champion Madrid last year in the final four.