Enough of the sloppy offense.

Enough of the inconsistent defense.

Enough of the falling behind.

Just … enough.

WCHS forward Tyler Bultena (24) scraps for a loose ball during the first half against Manson-Northwest Webster Tuesday night in Manson. DFJ photo/Troy Banning

With back-to-back losses and another poor first half chained to their backs, the Lynx found the stride that helped them win their opening five games, as they outscored Manson-Northwest Webster 41-29 over the final 16 minutes to rally from behind for a 67-59 victory.

“There were no major adjustments. It was just we needed to do our fundamental things better,” WCHS head coach Marty McKinney said. “It was just time to step up and the kids did that.”

WCHS (6-2) opened the third quarter on an 11-2 run and outscored the Cougars (5-6) 18-9 in the period. And the outburst came without senior leader and point guard Jordan Tanner for long stretches of play, as he was hobbled with a right knee injury sustained in the last few seconds of the first half.

Tanner played sparingly in the second half, but he was without his usual burst of speed and energy. He still managed to score 14 points, eight of them coming at the charity stripe, and dish out four assists.

“The kids did a great job of battling,” McKinney said. “We knew there was a chance we wouldn’t have Jordan and we had to battle and do whatever it took, and the kids really bought into that.”

WCHS guard Cameron Moen (10) drives and dishes to a teammate during the first half on Tuesday. He scored 16 points in the Lynx 67-59 win over Manson-Northwest Webster. DFJ photo/Troy Banning

McKinney credited reserves Dylan Steen and Nick Hackbarth for bringing a lift to the team in extended second-half minutes. Steen scored the majority of his eight points in the third quarter and Hackbarth contributed three points while battling inside the paint.

“Dylan has been good all year,” McKinney said. “He’s a kid that always comes in with a sense of urgency … he got us going by hustling in transition in that third quarter. And Nick is earning himself some more minutes and he’s getting more comfortable in there.”

Cameron Moen led WCHS with 16 points, 11 of them coming after the intermission. Henry Hoversten and Noah McKinney poured in 10 points each.

Manson-Northwest Webster’s Kaden Hanson led all scorers with 22 points and Cameron Krebsbach pitched in 15.

Krebsbach was a thorn in the Lynx side down low at times, but WCHS neutralized him in the second half by bringing a second defender down to double. It also led to several steals from behind by Tyler Bultena and Moen, who combined for eight thefts.

DFJ photo/Troy Banning

“We were definitely trying to dig down with our guards,” McKinney said. “The kids did a nice job adjusting to that.”

WCHS closed the third quarter on a 7-2 run for a 44-39 lead. The cushion expanded to double digits for the first time on a Hackbarth bucket to make it 54-43 with 3:10 remaining.

The Cougars got as close as 56-51 with 2:31 left, but WCHS maintained the edge at the free throw line by knocking down 9 of 11 attempts down the stretch. Noah McKinney drained five consecutive foul shots during to put the game on ice.

WCHS outscored Manson-Northwest Webster 22-12 at the foul line.

The Cougars put the Lynx back on their heels early by jumping out to a 13-5 lead just minutes into the contest. Tanner kept WCHS within striking distance by scoring seven first-quarter points.

DFJ photo/Troy Banning

An 11-2 WCHS spurt spanning the first and second periods pushed it in front, but only momentarily. The Cougars eventually took a 30-26 advantage into the halftime break.

“It was stuff we’d seen the last couple games and stuff we’d seen at practice,” McKinney said of the first-half struggles. “But in the second half we were much better offensively. We got good movement, we got post touches, we got points in the paint and we didn’t rely on the 3-point shot.”

WCHS will return to North Central Conference play on Friday with a road game at Hampton-Dumont.

Webster City 67, Manson-NWW 59

Tuesday at Manson

Webster City (6-2) — Noah McKinney 2 5-6 10, Cameron Moen 7 0-0 16, Jordan Tanner 3 8-10 14, Tyler Olson 0 0-0 0, Tyler Bultena 2 2-2 6, Dylan Steen 3 2-2 8, Henry Hoversten 3 4-7 10, Nick Hackbarth 1 1-2 3. Totals: 21 22-29 67.

Manson-NW Webster (5-6) — Devin Girard 0 0-0 0, Brian Pearson 2 3-3 8, Derek Girard 0 0-0 0, Dawson Estergaard 0 0-0 0, Kaden Hanson 8 2-5 22, Zach Walsh 2 0-0 6, Mark Condon 3 0-0 6, Zach Sheets 0 2-2 2, Cameron Krebsbach 5 5-6 15. Totals: 20 12-16 59.

Webster City 12 14 18 23 — 67

Man-NWW 15 15 9 20 — 59

3-point field goals — WC 3 (Moen 2, McKinney); MAN 7 (Hanson 4, Walsh 2, Pearson). Rebounds — WC 20 (Hoversten 6, Steen 4). Steals — WC 12 (Bultena 5, Moen 3, Steen 3). Assists — WC 15 (Bultena 4, Tanner 4). Turnovers — WC 10, MAN 16. Team fouls — WC 19, MAN 21. Fouled out — MAN: Pearson, Der. Girard.