When the Iowa High School Athletic Association released its latest round of boys’ basketball rankings this past Monday, the North Central Conference saw three teams among Class 3A’s Top 10. The latter two of those three NCC squads happened to be the seventh-rated Webster City boys’ basketball team and Humboldt, who checked in at No. 10.

Tonight, the Lynx and Wildcats will collide once more, set for a 7:45 p.m. tipoff at the historic Jefferson Gymnasium in Webster City. In a Thursday announcement by WCCSD, remaining hoops contests will take place at the Jeff Gym for the rest of the season.

At stake is a potential driver’s seat for the NCC crown. Currently, the top of the conference is in a three-way tie between No. 2 Clear Lake, the Lynx and the Wildcats. While the Lions hold the tiebreaker against the Lynx, the Wildcats have leveraged a win over Clear Lake on Jan. 13.

The No. 7 Lynx (14-1, 7-1 NCC) do return home with a five-game win streak, outlasting Hampton-Dumont/CAL with a 59-54 overtime victory this past Tuesday in Hampton.

Humboldt (13-2, 9-1 NCC) is riding a seven-game streak. Held in Humboldt, senior Ty McKinney drained two late free throws to lift the Lynx past the Wildcats with a 72-71 final score. McKinney pulled off the same feat last February, when Webster City took a 54-51 win from Humboldt.

McKinney has been averaging 13.8 points per contest so far this season.

Leading the charge for the purple and gold, however, is teammate Jaime Grossoehme. The six-foot, four-inch senior guard has averaged 18.8 points per game, followed by junior Briar Klaver’s 14.1 points per outing.

The Wildcats have plenty of firepower, as well, led by senior duo Will Orness and Joshua Thurm. Orness has averaged 16.7 points, alongside Thurm’s 16.2 points on average.

Sophomore Elliot Carlson is not too far behind, netting 15.3 points per contest.