HAMPTON - Always ahead and never in any real danger, the seventh-ranked (Class 3A) Webster City boys' basketball team wasn't able to rest comfortably until late in the fourth quarter here last night.
Hampton-Dumont climbed to within 38-31 with 3 minutes remaining in regulation, but it was all Lynx from there as they scored the final 10 points to pull away for a 48-31 North Central Conference victory.
Webster City (14-2, 14-0 NCC) dropped its magic number to clinch at least a share of the conference title to two heading into tonight's home contest with Clarion-Goldfield. They own a two-game cushion on No. 4 (3A) Iowa Falls-Alden, a team the Lynx beat 44-38 on Tuesday. And with just one day of prep time between games, WCHS head coach Marty McKinney wondered if this team would be emotionally up to the challenge last night.
"Coming off that big victory on Tuesday, we knew it was going to be hard, and Hampton's plan was to slow it down," he said. "Give Hampton credit, they came out and ran their game plan pretty well, but we made the plays when we needed to."
Andrew May scored a game-high 16 points for the Lynx and Bryan Swon checked in with 12. The two senior forwards both had four points during the late-game surge that slammed the door on the Bulldogs (5-14, 4-12 NCC).
Boone Myers added eight points, but his attempt to hit double figures fell short when he missed a dunk early in the fourth quarter.
Fact Box
Webster City 48, Hampton-Dumont 31
Webster City (14-2, 14-0 NCC) - Jonny Davis 1 2-4 4, Garrett Gourley 0 0-0 0, Sam Mossman 2 0-0 6, Bryan Swon 4 4-4 12, Ben Mossman 0 0-0 0, Brandon Carlson 0 0-0 0, Nick Olmstead 0 2-2 2, Andrew May 6 4-6 16, Austin Myers 0 0-0 0, Nick Erritt 0 0-0 0, Boone Myers 3 2-2 8. Totals: 16 14-18 48.
Hampton-Dumont (5-14, 4-12 NCC) - Tanner Brolsma 2 1-2 5, Spencer Claypool 4 2-4 10, Drew Anderson 3 0-0 7, Brett Janssen 0 0-0 0, Sam Butson 2 0-0 5, Andrew Benning 1 0-2 2, Caleb Haynes 1 0-0 2. Totals: 13 3-8 31.
Webster City15 9 11 13-48
Hampton-Dumont 8 8 8 7-31
3-point field goals - WC 2 (S. Mossman 2); H-D 2 (Anderson, Butson). Rebounds - WC 16 (B. Myers 5, Davis 4, May 4). Steals - WC 6 (Davis 2, Gourley 2). Assists - WC 12 (Davis 8). Team fouls - WC 12, H-D 18. Fouled out - none.
Hampton-Dumont packed in a 2-3 zone throughout the contest and dared the Lynx to light it up from the outside. Sam Mossman took the offer in the first quarter and buried a pair of 3-pointers to help WCHS open up a 15-8 lead.
It was 24-16 at the half in the Lynx favor, but the Bulldogs never went away. They sliced their deficit to six on three occasions in the third quarter. But WCHS answered late with four straight points, and a May bucket from close range with 10 ticks left in the period extended the margin back to 11, 35-24.
Spencer Claypool and Drew Anderson nailed back-to-back shots for the Bulldogs to trim the Lynx advantage to 38-31, but the Bulldogs got no closer. Claypool led his team with 10 points and Anderson had seven.
Hampton-Dumont limited all-conference point guard Jonny Davis to just four points, but the Lynx senior distributed eight assists, grabbed four rebounds and collected two steals. Myers grabbed five boards, May had four, and Garrett Gourley came off the bench to come up with two steals.