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Road warrior Lynx stay hot in NCC

Shannon goes off for 27 points, produces another double-double in win over IF-A

Webster City’s Henry Hoversten (40) has his shot challenged by Iowa Falls-Alden’s Weston Meyer Tuesday night. DFJ photo/Tracy Runneberg

IOWA FALLS — Nobody likes bus rides in the winter and playing in front of hostile crowds, but it hasn’t seemed to bother the Webster City boys’ basketball team so far this season.

For the fourth time in five outings inside the North Central Conference, the Lynx won away from home Tuesday night and remained in the driver’s seat at the top of the standings at the midpoint of the season.

Connor Shannon erupted for a career-high 27 points and Henry Hoversten continued to increase his productivity with 14 points off the bench, as they helped WCHS (7-3, 6-1 NCC) get by Iowa Falls-Alden, 61-53, on the Cadets home floor.

“I feel like we’ve been on the road for a month and it’s always tough, but the kids have been up to the test,” WCHS head coach Marty McKinney said. “Most of them have been close throughout, but we’ve made the key plays and got it done.”

McKinney admits that he didn’t expect his team to be out front in the race for the league title at this point, but he’s not going to complain about it.

Connor Shannon (34) scores from close range against Iowa Falls-Alden on Tuesday. DFJ photo/Tracy Runneberg

“Being 6-1 in the conference is a great start and that’s where you want to be,” he said. “But the second time through, we know we’re going to get everyone’s best shot. We’ve got a lot of room to improve, too.”

Shannon, a 6-foot-6 senior, turned it on in the fourth quarter with 12 points to help the Lynx extend what was a 42-40 lead after three quarters. He buried two of his three 3-pointers during the period and canned six free throws. He finished 10 of 10 at the charity stripe in the game and finished with another double-double on the strength of 12 rebounds. Hoversten added nine boards.

“Connor did a little bit of everything,” McKinney said. “He knocked down shots and he got open inside. We thought we had an advantage in there with him and he took advantage of the mismatches.”

Jordan Tanner added 12 points, six assists and four steals. He got to the line 12 times and his eight makes were part of the Lynx 19-5 edge at the stripe.

IF-A (5-4, 3-2 NCC), which led 14-4 early on, received 24 points from Jace Ites, the leading scorer in Class 3A at 24.9 points per game. Luke Haverkamp contributed eight points.

DFJ photo/Tracy Runneberg

WCHS will be back at home Friday night to host Algona. The Bulldogs handed the Lynx their only NCC loss, 66-56, back on Dec. 13.

Webster City 61, IF-Alden 53

Tuesday at Iowa Falls

Webster City (7-3, 6-1 NCC) — Noah McKinney 0 1-2 1, James Van Diest 1 0-0 2, Jordan Tanner 2 8-12 12, Tyler Bultena 1 0-0 2, Cameron Moen 1 0-0 3, Connor Shannon 7 10-10 27, Henry Hoversten 7 0-2 14. Totals: 19 19-26 61.

Iowa Falls-Alden (5-4, 3-2 NCC) — Devin Sheridan 1 0-0 2, Ben Steinfeldt 1 0-0 2, Tyjon Rose 3 0-0 8, Luke Haverkamp 5 0-0 11, Adam Long 0 0-0 0, Jack Wibholm 0 0-0 0, Tate Muilenburg 0 0-0 0, Jace Ites 9 5-12 24, Weston Meyer 3 0-0 6. Totals: 22 5-12 53.

Webster City 11 18 13 19 — 61

IF-Alden 14 12 14 13 — 53

3-point field goals — WC 4 (Shannon 3, Moen); IF-A 4 (Rose 2, Haverkamp, Ites). Rebounds — WC 30 (Shannon 12, Hoversten 9). Steals — WC 10 (Tanner 4). Assists — WC 17 (Tanner 6). Team fouls — WC 10, IF-A 22. Fouled out — none.

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