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Doering takes the lead, wills WCHS?boys past Gaels in packed house inside Jeff Gym

Webster City and St. Edmond tip off inside Jefferson Gymnasium in Webster City on Friday. The return to the famed venue was successful for the Lynx, as they prevailed, 54-50. DFJ photo/Troy Banning

WEBSTER CITY — For whatever reason, the opening three to five minutes of the third quarter seem to belong to the Webster City boys’ basketball team.

That’s a good thing for a number of reasons. At the top of the list: Those bursts have given the Lynx the breathing room to fend off late-game struggles in each of their past two contests.

Ahead by as many as 14 points in the third quarter on Friday, WCHS allowed St. Edmond to get as close as two in the final period, but the Lynx hung on for a 54-50 North Central Conference victory inside a packed, overheated and raucous Jefferson Gymnasium.

WCHS (3-0, 1-0 NCC) has gone on 16-2, 15-2 and 13-2 spurts to open the second half in its three outings, and while head coach Marty McKinney would have loved to say it’s all about halftime adjustments, he instead gave credit where credit is due.

“You’ve got to give the kids the credit because they come out ready to go (after halftime),” McKinney said. “They do a good job of resetting in the locker room and coming out ready to play.”

Lynx senior Drake Doering shouts encouragement to teammates against St. Edmond on Friday. He poured in 18 points in the Lynx 54-50 win. DFJ photo/Troy Banning

The longtime rivals brought Jeff Gym back to life for its first boys’ varsity game since Feb. 20, 2012. Drake Doering, who led the Lynx with 18 points, was hyped to step onto the legendary floor and he delivered.

“It was unbelievable … I had the time of my life in here,” Doering said. “I tried not to get too caught up in the noise, but it was loud. I’m glad we got the win here.”

Doering picked up the slack for a struggling Lynx offense against St. Edmond’s well-executed help man-to-man defense. The Gaels cut off the driving lanes, limited WCHS in transition and curtailed the Lynx outside weapons.

Doering got free for two of the team’s four 3-pointers and scored nine points in each half.

“Drake was great in big moments,” McKinney said. “We were struggling offensively and we needed somebody to step up. Drake was that guy.”

Webster City’s Lincoln LaSourd (30) skies towards the rim in search of a defensive rebound against St. Edmond on Friday. DFJ photo/Troy Banning

Doering hit the go-ahead 3-pointer in the final minute of the Lynx win over South Central Calhoun last Tuesday, and on Friday it was a defensive play that turned the tide. St. Edmond had the ball and a chance to either tie or take the lead with 3:20 remaining, but Doering came up with a steal at halfcourt and glided in for a layup to increase the Lynx lead to four, 50-46. He cashed in on a pair of free throws in the final minute to push the margin to six.

“We’re fortunate to pull off two of these that have been close,” Doering said. “It can always go the other way, so we’ve just got to keep working and trust ourselves.”

Harrison Mayer paced St. Edmond (1-3, 1-1 NCC) and led all scorers with 22 points, most of them coming in the paint. Connor Bocken poured in 15 more for the Gaels.

“Our post defense was poor, but that’s on me because we haven’t worked on that enough in practice,” McKinney said. “But give St. Ed’s credit because they really came out and got after us. Mayer had a great game and we didn’t have much of an answer for him.”

Carter Neuroth and Tyler Olson both scored nine points for the Lynx. Tavis Eklund and Nick Hackbarth each added seven.

WCHS head coach Marty McKinney voices is displeasure with a charging call during the second half against St. Edmond on Friday. DFJ photo/Troy Banning

Olson might not have scored in droves, but he did plenty of other things and registered nine rebounds, seven steals and two assists.

Doering ignited the third-quarter flurry with five consecutive points to give WCHS a 30-22 lead. Neuroth scored four points on drives and Eklund capped the surge with a bucket in the paint. Eklund also buried a 3 from the top of the key late in the period, as WCHS took a 41-32 cushion into the final eight minutes.

Mayer splashed in a triple from the corner early in the fourth and then brought the Gaels within 46-44 on a three-point play at the 4:10 mark.

McKinney says Friday’s close call could be a blessing in disguise as the Lynx prepare for their toughest test yet — a Tuesday night road trip north to take on defending league champion Clear Lake.

“Not every night is going to be a 70-point night and we’re going to have to be able to execute in the half court,” he said. “We know we have so many things that we could do better.”

Webster City starters Carter Neuroth (22), Tavis Eklund (14), Drake Doering (10), Tyler Olson (20) and Nick Hackbarth (44) wait on the bench to be introduced inside Jeff Gym prior to the start of Friday’s game against St. Edmond. It was the first varsity game inside the famed venue since Feb. 20, 2012 DFJ photo/Troy Banning

Webster City 54, St. Edmond 50

Friday at Webster City

St. Edmond (1-3, 1-1 NCC) — Connor Bocken 6 0-0 15, Charlie Shelly 0 0-0 0, Jed Tracy 3 0-0 7, Cael Kolacia 3 0-0 6, Kase Baker 0 0-0 0, Anthony Lacina 0 0-0 0, Jackson Bemrich 0 0-0 0, Hayden Mayer 10 1-1 22, Quinton McCarville 0 0-0 0, Brock Stanek 0 0-0 0. Totals: 22 1-1 50.

Webster City (3-0, 1-0 NCC) — Ty McKinney 0 0-0 0, Drake Doering 7 2-3 18, Tavis Eklund 2 2-2 7, Tyler Olson 3 3-4 9, Carter Neuroth 4 0-0 9, Elijah Killian 0 2-2 2, Lincoln LaSourd 0 0-0 0, Will Tasler 1 0-0 2, Nick Hackbarth 1 5-6 7. Totals: 18 14-17 54.

St. Edmond 12 10 10 18 — 50

Web City 13 12 16 13 — 54

3-point field goals — SE 5 (Bocken 3, Tracy, Mayer); WC 4 (Doering 2, Eklund, Neuroth). Rebounds — WC 27 (Olson 9, Hackbarth 5). Steals — WC 11 (Olson 7). Assists — WC 7 (Olson 2, Eklund 2). Turnovers — WC 13. Team fouls — SE 17, WC 10. Fouled out — none.

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