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An off night at defensive end leads to a Lynx loss against Toreadors

Olson and Hoversten combine for 28 points in regular season finale

WEBSTER CITY — Uncharacteristic problems at the defensive end of the court made for a frustrating performance for the Webster City boys’ basketball team last night.

The Lynx (14-7) fell behind in the second quarter and were never able to catch up in a 54-49 non-conference loss to Boone.

“We weren’t very good defensively, plain and simple,” WCHS head coach Marty McKinney said after his club dropped its regular season finale. “We got beat off the dribble too much, almost all night long, and we put ourselves in bad spots. Something just wasn’t clicking.”

It didn’t help that senior center and leading scorer Henry Hoversten was relegated to the bench for much of the second quarter after he picked up his third foul. Boone (12-7) took advantage and owned a 27-24 lead at the intermission.

The Toreadors built their lead to eight points with two minutes remaining. WCHS made one last push and closed to within one possession in the final 30 seconds.

“The last three minutes we played really well,” McKinney said. “We got some steals and we played with an energy that just wasn’t there for three and a half quarters.”

Tyler Olson led the Lynx with 15 points, five rebounds and three steals. Despite limited minutes, Hoversten still managed to drop in 13 points. Dylan Steen added seven points and seven rebounds.

Boone received a game-high 16 points from Justin Aspengren, as well as 13 from Quali Sporaa and 11 from Alex Sturtz.

WCHS will now turn its attention to Monday’s Class 3A Substate 2 quarterfinal against Decorah (9-12). The Lynx will host the contest that will begin at 6:30 p.m. Charles City and Iowa Falls-Alden will meet in another quarterfinal at 8 p.m.

McKinney says the message to his team was simple after last night’s setback.

“If we play like that Monday night we’re going to be turning our stuff in on Tuesday,” he said. “So maybe this was a little bit of a wake-up call.”

Boone 54, Webster City 49

Thursday at Webster City

Boone (12-7) — Brandon Rouse 0 0-0 0, Derek Rhinehart 0 0-0 0, Tristant Pearson 1 1-1 3, Tyler Casotti 3 0-0 7, Quali Sporaa 6 1-3 13, Bret Price 2 0-0 4, Justin Aspengren 7 2-2 16, Alex Sturtz 5 0-0 11, Casey Hutchings 0 0-0 0. Totals: 24 4-6 54.

Webster City (14-7) — Dylan Steen 3 0-0 7, Drake Doering 2 0-0 4, Nathan Ferrell 0 0-0 0, Tavis Eklund 2 0-0 6, Tyler Olson 6 1-2 15, Carter Neuroth 1 2-2 4, Henry Hoversten 5 2-3 13. Totals: 19 5-7 49.

Boone 12 15 16 11 — 54

Webster City 12 12 12 13 — 49

3-point field goals — BO 2 (Casotti, Sturtz); WC 6 (Eklund 2, Olson 2, Steen, Hoversten). Rebounds — WC 19 (Steen 7, Olson 5). Steals — WC 5 (Olson 3). Assists — WC 9 (Neuroth 3, Doering 3). Turnovers — WC 6. Team fouls — BO 6, WC 11.

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