Basketball Recap: Gage Hedstrom's Big Game Can't Quite Lead St. Mary's over Elgin/Pope John

St. Mary was the 69-63 winner over Elgin/Pope John when they last played one another two weeks ago, but their luck changed this time around. The St. Mary's Cardinals fell to the Elgin/Pope John Wolfpack 69-65.

Gage Hedstrom

Points

02/21/25 @ Elgin/Pope John	27
02/13/25 vs West Holt	23
02/11/25 vs Boyd County	18
02/08/25 vs Elgin/Pope John	33

Several Cardinals players turned in solid performances despite ultimately coming up short. Perhaps the best among those players was Gage Hedstrom, who went 11-for-17 to rack up 27 points and five rebounds. The game was Hedstrom's fourth in a row with at least 18 points. The team also got some help courtesy of Logan Brabec, who went 6-for-15 en route to 20 points and five boards.

Leading Elgin/Pope John to victory were Jarek Erickson and Dylan Kolm. Erickson went 7-for-11 on his way to 27 points in addition to seven assists and five rebounds, while Kolm went 8-for-10 to rack up 23 points and five boards. That's the most assists Erickson has posted since back in December of 2024. Another player making a difference was Kellan Hoefer, who earned seven points.

St. Mary's loss dropped their record down to 18-5. As for Elgin/Pope John, the win was the third in a row for them, bringing their record for this year to 14-9.

St. Mary's does not have any more games scheduled as of now. As for Elgin/Pope John, they will square off against Stuart at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday.