He set his alarm for 3:30 a.m. on Saturday and Sunday, climbed out of bed and stuffed his leg in a bucket of ice water. In fact, his foot rarely left that bucket over the weekend.

Prior to Monday’s game, he went through a specific set of drills to gage the strength of his injured ankle. He passed the test and got the call — suit up.

Fifteen points, five rebounds, five assists and a steal later, he had proved his toughness and helped the Webster City boys’ basketball team achieve a much-needed North Central Conference victory.

Back on the court just three days after suffering a sprained ankle in a loss to Iowa Falls-Alden, McKinney helped to lead the Lynx in a 64-56 victory over Clarion-Goldfield-Dows inside the WCHS gymnasium. He showed no signs of limitations and buried three of the Lynx nine 3-point baskets.

WCHS senior Tyler Olson takes a contested jumper during the second half against CGD Monday night in Webster City. DFJ photo/Troy Banning

“I’ll be honest, I didn’t think he was going to play,” Marty McKinney, Ty’s dad and the Lynx head coach, said. “As a dad, I wasn’t sure if I wanted him to, but as a coach I knew we needed him. On Saturday, he could barely walk, but give the kid credit … he had his foot in an ice bucket all weekend and it took dedication. He played well.”

WCHS (6-8, 4-6 NCC) ended a two-game slide by catching fire from the perimeter and, more importantly, avoiding those four- and five-minute swoons that have been problematic throughout the season. The Lynx led at the end of each period and turned a four-point halftime lead into a nine-point advantage after three periods. CGD (8-10, 4-8 NCC), which handled the Lynx 72-62 in the first meeting this season, never got closer than five over the final eight minutes.

“To win games and compete, you’ve got to play for four quarters and I thought we did that,” Marty McKinney said. “Clarion made their runs, but at the same time we kept it together and got big buckets when we needed them.”

Jamin Stuhr led WCHS with 16 points and seven rebounds, and Tavis Eklund joined Ty McKinney with 15. Trey Lyons kicked in eight more, and Tyler Olson continued to quietly do it all — four points, seven assists and six rebounds.

A 3-point barrage over a 1-minute, 10-second stretch of the third quarter thrust WCHS into the driver’s seat for good. Eklund, McKinney and Lyons all buried triples on three consecutive possessions to push the Lynx advantage to double digits. WCHS ended the period on an 11-2 run.

DFJ photo/Troy Banning

WCHS rained in 9 of 19 triples and shot 55 percent overall from the field (23 of 42).

“The 3-point shot is such a big part of the game and we’ve got guys that can shoot it,” Marty McKinney said. “Devon (Stoakes) stepped up and hit one, Tavis and Ty stepped up, and Trey stepped up and hit some big shots.”

Stuhr took over in the fourth, as the junior forward scored nine straight WCHS points to keep the team in command. He rattled in long jumpers from both baselines, scored on the interior and in transition, and then knocked down a free throw.

The Lynx put the game away at the free throw line, as Eklund and Ty McKinney combined to drain six consecutive freebies over the final 1:21.

Mateo Martinez paced CGD with a game-high 19 points, while three others — Coady Olson, Jaxon Carpenter and Aidan Harrington — pitched in nine points each.

DFJ photo/Troy Banning

Webster City 64, CGD 56

Monday at Webster City

CGD (8-10, 4-8 NCC) — Mateo Martinez 6 5-5 19, Coady Olson 4 0-2 9, Jaxon Carpenter 3 3-4 9, Aidan Harrington 4 1-2 9, Tyson Berning 0 0-0 0, Landon Olson 1 0-0 2, Gavin Wilson 2 0-0 4, Jacob Moore 2 0-0 4. Totals: 22 9-13 56.

Webster City (6-8, 4-6 NCC) — Olson 2 0-2 4, Jayce Neuroth 0 0-0 0, Devon Stoakes 1 0-0 3, Ty McKinney 5 2-2 15, Trey Lyons 3 0-0 8, Tavis Eklund 4 4-5 15, Jamin Stuhr 7 2-3 16, Beau Klaver 1 1-2 3. Totals: 23 9-14 64.

CGD 11 18 9 18 — 56

Web City 13 20 16 15 — 64

3-point field goals — CGD 3 (Martinez 2, C. Olson); WC 9 (McKinney 3, Eklund 3, Lyons 2, Stoakes). Rebounds — WC 33 (Stuhr 7, Olson 6, McKinney 5, Eklund 5). Steals — WC 2. Assists — WC 11 (Olson 7, McKinney 5). Turnovers — WC 11. Team fouls — CGD 13, WC 14. Fouled out — CGD: Martinez.