East Marshall (12-10) was on the upswing heading into Monday’s game having won 10 of the 13 games played after winter break. PCM (12-10), on the other hand, had lost its last five games. It seemed like a recipe for success for East Marshall given the confident, crisp basketball the Mustangs were playing on the offensive side of the ball.

But the crispness wasn’t there against PCM.

Coach Adam Bauder said the team missed shots, but it wasn’t what killed them.

“I think they decided they were going to offensive rebound, and we decided we weren’t going to defensive rebound,” Bauder said. “Just was frustrating on the defensive end that we couldn’t get one-and-done possessions.”

T-R PHOTO BY NOAH ROHLFING - East Marshall’s Eric Ommen, left, has his shot challenged by PCM’s Derek Brown (51) in Monday’s Class 2A District 13 first-round game in Story City.

In the first half it was East Marshall’s defense keeping the game tight, holding PCM to 19 points and heading into the halftime break with a four-point deficit. It was there to be taken for whoever stole momentum at the start.

But a PCM 3-pointer immediately put East Marshall on the back foot, and when the shots continued to go in-and-out, it led to more PCM opportunities. The boards, as Bauder said, were not kind to East Marshall in the second half. PCM crashed the offensive glass and feasted on those second-chance opportunities to create a 34-20 gap through three quarters.

It didn’t get any better in the fourth quarter for East Marshall — the Mustangs continued to have one-and-done possessions while allowing PCM more chances to score. No East Marshall player reached double-figures, with Logan Bowie scoring a team-high nine points. Eric Ommen was next on the list with four points. Gatlin Boell led PCM with 13 points.

The zone PCM implemented was difficult for East Marshall to get through, Bauder said.

“We never got in a rhythm,” Bauder said. “They were good defensively and forced us into making bad decisions.”

T-R PHOTO BY NOAH ROHLFING

East Marshall now sits in an interesting spot heading into the 2020-21 season. It was a disappointing end for a team playing its best basketball of the year to get knocked out in the first round of district action. The Mustangs lose senior starter Eric Ommen and bench contributors in Tyler Finders and Korbin Seth as well.

But four starters — Bo lee, Ethan Espenscheid, Bowie and Runner — return, as does promising freshman guard Junior Brown. Bauder said the future is bright for East Marshall.

Despite the disappointment, it was a successful senior season for Ommen.

“I couldn’t ask for much more this season,” Ommen said. “After last season winning three games, this season having a winning record and double-digits, I couldn’t ask for anything more than to have that season with those guys.”

PCM 43, East Marshall 24

E. MARSHALL (12-10) — Bo Lee 1 0-0 3, Ethan Espenscheid 1 0-0 3, Logan Bowie 2 4-4 9, Eric Ommen 2 0-0 4, Drew Runner 0 3-6 3, Tyler Finders 0 0-2 0, Korbin Seth 0 0-0 0, Junior Brown 1 0-0 2, Whitaker Crouse 0 0-0 0, Jaron Johnson 0 0-0 0, Clayton Kerch 0 0-0 0. TOTALS 7 7-12 24.

PCM (12-10) — Jason Stafford 4 0-0 11, Andrew Mitchell 2 4-6 8, Gatlin Boell 6 0-0 13, Durant Van Dyke 2 0-0 4, Derek Brown 2 1-1 5, Cooper VandeLune 0 0-0 0, Sage Burns 0 0-0 0, Kolten Johnson 0 0-0 0, Robbie Ferneding 0 0-0 0, Brayden Berger 0 0-0 0, Grant Landgrebe 0 2-2 2. TOTALS 16 7-9 43.

E. MARSHALL 8 7 5 4 — 24

PCM 12 7 13 11 — 43

3-Point Goals–EM 3 (Lee, Espenscheid, Bowie), PCM 4 (Stafford 3, Boell). Total Fouls–EM 9, PCM 11.