Messenger photo by Britt Kudla: St. Edmond's JT Laufersweiler shoots on Tuesday night against Southeast Valley in the Gael gym. For more phtotos, please visit CU.messengernews.net

Fueled by Hunter Horn, the St. Edmond boys raced past Southeast Valley here Tuesday night, 74-31.

Horn scored 13 in the third quarter as the Gaels outscored the Jaguars during that time, 27-6, to take control of the contest.

The sophomore finished with his first double-double, scoring a game-high 23 points with 11 rebounds and two steals. Senior Sam Mericle and sophomore Jack McElroy each added 11 points for St. Edmond (2-0 overall).

Jakob Koopman, another sophomore making his first varsity appearance after missing last year with a knee injury, dropped in his first points to start the game, finishing with six points, nine rebounds and a blocked shot.

“We really moved the ball better in that third quarter,” SEHS head coach Adolph Kochendorfer said. “We were just rushing things early on. We were getting good looks, we just weren’t taking our time or making the extra pass. Once we started doing that, we got in a groove.

“We start two seniors and three sophomores, so we’re still a very young team. But they listen and when you coach them up, they do it.”

For the Jaguars (1-2), Carter Ferry had nine points with Cole Lundgren adding five blocks and five rebounds.

The Gaels only trailed for a brief moment at 4-2 before going on a 15-5 run to end the first. All seven players who saw the court for St. Edmond scored in the period.

“We’ve got several kids that can knock shots down,” Kochendorfer said. “When we did it within the offense, we got great looks.

“I thought our defense played great. Southeast Valley is a big, physical team but we did a tremendous job on the boards.”

Another big run to start the third put the game out of reach, as the Gaels went on a 15-0 burst that made it 54-19. Horn had knocked down five field goals including a 3-pointer during that stretch.

Andrew Clavey added nine points off the bench and JT Laufersweiler finished with five points, four rebounds and two steals. Ty Mericle chipped in four rebounds.

St. Edmond will continue its busy week with back-to-back road games starting Thursday at South Hamilton before heading to Humboldt on Friday. Southeast Valley heads to Emmetsburg on Friday.

ST. EDMOND 74, SOUTHEAST VALLEY 31

St. Edmond — Sam Mericle 4 0-0 11, Jakob Koopman 3 0-0 6, Jack McElroy 5 0-0 11, JT Laufersweiler 2 0-2 5, Hunter Horn 10 2-4 23, Grant Galles 2 1-2 5, Andrew Clavey 4 0-0 9, Ty Mericle 0 0-0 0, Elias Kolacia 0 2-4 2, Thomas Cosgrove 1 0-0 2, Jackson Calvert 0 0-0 0, Drake Vandi 0 0-0 0. Totals: 31 5-12 74.

Southeast Valley — Andrew Miller 2 0-0 5, Cole Lundgren 2 0-0 4, Brady Hanson 1 0-0 2, Hane Sorenson 1 0-0 2, Carter Ferry 4 0-0 9, Logan Jaeschke 0 2-2 2, Casey Hanson 0 1-2 1, Gauge Jones 1 0-0 2, Nick Field 2 0-0 4, Ross Larson 0 0-0 0. Totals: 13 3-4 31.

Quarter scores: St. Edmond led 17-9, 32-15, 59-21. Three-point goals: St. Edmond 7 (S. Mericle 3, McElroy 1, Laufersweiler 1, Horn 1, Clavey 1), Southeast Valley 2 (Miller 1, Ferry 1). Total rebounds: St. Edmond 45, Southeast Valley 21. Steals: St. Edmond 11, Southeast Valley 3. Blocked shots: St. Edmond 2, Southeast Valley 5. Turnovers: St. Edmond 11, Southeast Valley 15. Team fouls: St. Edmond 5, Southeast Valley 10.