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REUNION AT JEFF GYM

Ratcliff, Lynx gear up for matchup vs. Mickelson, ADM

LYNX HEAD COACH BRETT RATCLIFF instructs his team during the substate quarterfinals. (DFJ photo by Tyler Anderson)

One game down, and two more games are all that it takes for the Webster City boys’ basketball team to reach the Iowa High School Athletic Association’s Class 3A State Tournament since 2005.

One of those high stakes contests will pit former teammates against one another — all for the right to play in the Class 3A-Substate 1 Finals and a possible spot at Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines.

In a clash between old friends, WCHS head boys’ basketball coach Brett Ratcliff and ADM head coach Trevor Mickelson will match wits on the hardwood, as the Lynx and Tigers face off in a Class 3A-Substate 1 semifinal matchup, set for 7 p.m. tonight at historic Jefferson Gymnasium.

While Webster City outlasted Gilbert, 63-60, in the substate quarterfinals on Tuesday at Jeff Gym, the Tigers pulled off a 42-37 victory over Denison-Schleswig on Tuesday in Adel.

“It’s going to be a really fun game for the both of us,” Ratcliff said of the upcoming showdown. “We both have really good teams, so it’ll be worth the price of admission and then some.”

The winner of this contest will advance to the Class 3A-Substate 1 championship, where they will face the winner of tonight’s other semifinal game between Carroll and No. 10-ranked Bishop Heelan. The matchup between the Tigers and Crusaders tips off at 7 p.m. in Sioux City.

In their previous outing, the Lynx (17-3) had to overcome a double-digit deficit going into the second half, spearheaded by junior Briar Klaver’s 23 points, senior Jaime Grossoehme’s 15 points and teammate Ty McKinney’s 10 points. Junior Jack Larson came off of the bench to score eight points, a total highlighted by a slam dunk before the end of the third period against Gilbert, alongside senior Jayce Neuroth’s 10 rebounds.

Grossoehme leads Webster City with 16.9 points per game, followed by Klaver’s 14.1 points and 8.4 rebounds, and McKinney’s 13.2 points per appearance.

For Ratcliff, the Lynx’s main strengths are the ability to distribute and to convert good shots into great ones.

“Our team has balance,” Ratcliff said. “We don’t have a player who goes crazy every night, but we have three to four guys who can score in double figures. We’ve really preached moving the basketball, sharing the basketball, and taking a good look and making it into a great look. That’s what we’ve been working on, and it’s seemed to work out several times so far this year.”

Going into substate, ADM (11-11) had faced a three-game skid. However, the Tigers had dropped those games by a combined 16 points — most notably a narrow 53-50 road setback against No. 6-ranked (Class 4A) Norwalk on Feb. 14.

Similar to the Lynx’s comeback efforts against Gilbert, ADM had clawed back from an early deficit to push past the Hawkeye 10 champions in the Monarchs.

The Tigers are led by junior Adam Bryte, who dishes out 14.6 points and four rebounds per game, and senior Vice Benetti’s 14.6 points and 9.7 boards per contest. Junior Rhylan Stine-Smith contributes to ADM’s cause with 9.4 points and 4.5 assists per outing.

This is also the first meeting between the two schools on the hardwood.

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