Leading the Bobcats was Armonniey Thomas who posted a career-high of 33 points in the win.

“Armmoniey played well,” Marshalltown head coach Michael Appel said. “Our big emphasis with him was not to settle, let’s get some easy things going to the bucket first, get into a rhythm and once he does that, he gets his shot going. He had a really good feel for the game tonight and was kind of in the zone. Our guys did a good job finding him. That’s kind of it how it goes when he is in a rhythm like that you find him and get him in the right spots.”

The Bobcats opened the game with an 11-0 run and never had to look back. Thomas accumulated 15 points in the first quarter while Drake Kapayou scored seven.

“It was a good effort by our guys,” Appel said. “We got off to a good start just by moving the ball around and getting some stops on the defensive end helps, taking good shots and obviously making them. Good effort from our guys. It all starts in practice and buying in on what we are saying. Give our guys credit they did that.”

T-R PHOTO BY ANDREW ABADIE - Marshalltown’s Sean Nyuon scores a layup ahead of Des Moines East’s Mason Pena in the second half of Friday’s game.

In the second quarter, the Bobcats defense had its way with the Scarlets as Marshalltown extended its lead with multiple points scored off turnovers. The other difference was Thomas’ 3-point shooting as he nailed six of his seven 3-points in the first half which helped give the Bobcats a 40-16 lead.

Armonniey was getting some steals and deflections,” Appel said. “We were getting their rebounds and not giving them second-chance points. He’s getting it out on a fast break and that’s how it all starts. If we can get him to buy on the defensive end that way and just be solid and get some stops then all of sudden, we can get some things going on the offensive end.

“As the game kept going, I told the guys we have to stay consistent with what we are doing. It doesn’t matter if we are up 30 or if we are up by five, you have to really buy into the defensive end every time.”

Out of the half, Marshalltown for the second time held Des Moines North to five points in a quarter, with the other happening in the first quarter. However, the Scarlets managed to outscore the Bobcats 14-6 in the fourth quarter against Marshalltown’s non-starters.

Along with Thomas’ performance, Kapayou scored 14 points while nailing three 3-pointers.

‘All the plays start of me with and Drake,” Thomas said. “When we’re open, have more opportunities for our post to feed and then we can know we can knock them down when we are open.

“He’s a freshman and first game he was a little afraid. He’s opened up a little. I’ve been telling him to shoot because he’s a good shooter.”

Marshalltown will travel to Des Moines North on Tuesday.

“[The win] helps our guys and gives our guys some confidence,” Appel said. “We also have got to remember that we got beat by 35 by a very good Johnston team. We don’t want to go backwards on that. We understand we have a lot of work to do and still have to get a lot better so that’s the main emphasis. It was a great win tonight but come Sunday afternoon we have to be ready to practice and be ready for Des Moines North.”

Marshalltown 61, Des Moines East 34

At Marshalltown

DM EAST (0-2) — Derrick Troncoso 2 5-7 9, Mason Pena 6 0-2 14, Kendrick Terrell 1 2-5 4, Rashad Madyun 0 0-0 0, Brayden Carre 0 0-0 0, Jayden Hazelbaker 0 0-0 0, Angel Flores 0 0-0 0, Zach Anderson 0 0-0 0, Berhane Mikele 2 2-4 7, Wadah Makwag 0 0-0 0, Akim Quaye 0 0-1 0, Davion Shumpert 0 0-0 0. TOTALS 11 9-19 34.

MHS (1-1) — Armonniey Thomas 12 3-4 33, Drake Kapayou 3 5-6 14, Will Van Buren 1 3-4 5, Dwight Joar 0 0-0 0, Trevor Stamp 0 0-0, Drake Polley 0 0-0 0, Austin Shomo 0 0-0 0, Justin Melde 0 0-0 0, Gatluak Kuony 1 2-2 4, Grant Greazel 0 0-0 0, Sean Nyuon 0 2-2 2, Alonzo Ceren 0 0-0 0, Jakob Boriskey 0 0-0 0, Isaiah Borgos 0 0-0 0, Aiden DeVolder 1 1-4 3. TOTALS 20 15-18 61.

DM EAST 5 11 5 14 — 34

MHS 22 18 15 6 — 61

3-Point Goals–Marshalltown (Thomas 6, Kapayou 3), Des Moines East (Pena 2, Mikelle). Total Fouls–Marshalltown 19, Des Moines East 19. Fouled Out–None.