Hunter Horn scored 37 points including the go ahead basket with five seconds left and Fort Dodge St. Edmond beat Newell-Fonda 70-69 in a boys class 1A district semi-final played Thursday night in Newell.
The Mustangs had a chance for the win but Mason Hoberman’s 15 foot shot bounced off the rim as time expired.
The Gaels jumped out to a 23-10 lead after the first quarter and used an 11-0 run late in the 2nd quarter to carry a 40-28 lead into the halftime break.
With Newell-Fonda trailing 49-40 in the 3rd quarter, Jacksyn Hogrefe made back to back 3-pointers and Max Carlson followed with a made three and the Mustangs roared back to tie the game at 49-49. However, Horn would then make back to back baskets and the Gaels quickly regained the lead and took a 55-50 lead into the final quarter.
Hogrefe’s fourth 3-pointer of the 2nd half gave the Mustangs the lead at 57-55 and from that point on it was back and forth. The Mustangs had a 68-64 lead in the final minute only to have the Gaels take advantage of a couple turnovers and they would tie the game at 68-68. With 11.2 seconds left Hogrefe was at the line and made the first free throw but missed the second, the Gaels got the rebound and raced to the other end where they found Horn open in the lane and the 6-4 sophomore made a three footer that gave them the lead. Mustangs coach Chad Buchholz called a timeout with 3.1 seconds left to set up a potential game winning play, which was executed perfectly, but the last second shot wouldn’t fall.
Hogrefe poured in 21 of his team high 33 points in the 2nd half. Carlson had 12, Guyson Lyman and Eli Roberts each scored 11. The Mustangs finish the year with a record of 13-10.
St. Edmond, now 12-11, will face North Union in a district final next Tuesday at Humboldt. North Union beat Alta-Aurelia 58-39.
