St. Edmond Mounts Incredible Rally To Claim 1A Gold

Gaels win their second state championship, 54-42.

St. Edmond's Hunter Horn (34) takes a shot against Marquette Catholic's Taegin Smith (3) on March 13, 2026, at Casey’s Center in Des Moines. | Cody Scanlan/The Register / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Nobody at the Class 1A Iowa High School Athletic Association Boys State Basketball Tournament stayed within single digits of top-seed and No. 1 ranked St. Edmond throughout the week.

But that definitely didn’t look like it would happen early on vs. Bellevue Marquette Catholic.

The Defenders, in the state finals for a third consecutive season, opened up a big lead on the Gaels before St. Edmond rallied, scoring 19 straight points during one stretch to claim a 54-42 victory.

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In the finals for a sixth time under legendary head coach Adolph Kochendorfer, the Gaels looked frustrated at first with the zone defense by Bellevue Marquette. But once Horn started attacking, all of that changed around.

Tournament MVP Hunter Horn With Another Double-Double

Horn finished with a game-high 21 points and 10 rebounds with three steals and two assists, earning all-tournament MVP honors. Carson Bargfrede added 13 points and Jakob Koopman finished with nine points, four rebounds and two steals.

For the Defenders, Koen Roeder had 10 points and Justin Severson eight with six rebounds.

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St. Edmond’s rally started with six straight points by Horn late in the third quarter, as his fellow seniors all got involved in the fourth. Koopman had two buckets, as did Jack McElroy, Bargfrede added a basket and Horn drained a 3-pointer.

The Gaels had come up short in each of their last four finals appearances after winning it all in 2000.