Finally, on Monday night, the Bobcats got the ball to bounce in their direction.

MHS led by as many as 14 points in the third quarter before finding a way to fight past Norwalk for a 50-49 thriller inside the Roundhouse, surviving a feisty non-conference for its first single-digit win this season.

“We’ve lost a lot of close ones where we’ve had that lead and were in control and unfortunately done a few things where the other team comes back to win,” MHS head coach Michael Appel said, “so I’m proud of how we stuck in there and made the plays we needed to win the game.”

The visiting Warriors (12-8) didn’t lead until Grant Larson’s 3-pointer with 1 minute, 44 seconds remaining in the game put them ahead by three, 48-45, but an embattled Marshalltown (5-11) squad didn’t relent. Prince Jallah made a pair of free throws before Norwalk’s leading scorer Cole Tunender went 1-for-2 at the charity stripe to make it a two-point difference.

T-R PHOTO BY ROSS THEDE

With 1 minute remaining, the Bobcats hurried into an offensive set and opened the door for senior swingman Isaiah Borgos to bury a 3-pointer from near the top of the key. Borgos’ third triple of the night gave MHS a one-point advantage, and it managed to stand the test of time.

Tunender missed a 3-pointer from the corner that yielded a long rebound, which MHS junior point guard Armonniey Thomas gathered on the run. His contested layup attempt at the other end rattled out, but Redek Born’s 3-point try was off target for the Warriors.

With the ball under Norwalk’s basket, Marshalltown took two tries to inbounds the ball and finally found Thomas on the pass. His subsequent pass caught Jallah streaking toward the other end, and he was promptly fouled with 9.4 seconds remaining in a one-point game.

Jallah, a 50-percent free-throw shooter who was 7-for-8 in the game prior to these pivotal attempts, missed both, but Born was unable to get off his shot at the other end before the final buzzer sounded.

The single-digit win, by a single point no less, was Marshalltown’s first in five such games this season.

T-R PHOTO BY ROSS THEDE

“It feels good to be on this other side for once,” Appel said. “There’s a lot of times this season that if this possession does this, or we’re two or three ossessions away, or even one possession away, it’s nice to be on top and make enough plays to win the game.”

Jallah led the Bobcats with a game-high 15 points to go with 10 rebounds. Borgos tallied 11 points while Thomas had 10 points and eight rebounds. Grant Greazel made a pair of 3-pointers for six points and Ivan Alvarado contributed five points in a momentous contribution off the bench in the first half.

With Greazel in foul trouble, Alvarado made a 3-pointer and converted a layup in succession to help the Bobcats to their 14-point lead during the second quarter.

“He’s becoming a lot more comfortable out there and understanding his role and doing a lot of good things,” Appel said of the sophomore Alvarado. “He’s guarding really well on the defensive end and understanding what we want him to do on the offensive end. He got big minutes for a sophomore.

“It takes everyone to have success, and he was a big part of it tonight.”

T-R PHOTO BY ROSS THEDE

Larson and Joe Brown led Norwalk with 12 points apiece, while Born and Tunender finished with seven each. The Warriors suffered their third-straight loss while falling to 2-4 in games decided by single digits.

“I told the guys we lost the game in the first half,” said Norwalk head coach Chris Larson. “We didn’t come out and execute early and that bites you against a good team. We knew that too, they’re a good team. Their record is not indicative — they just played Johnston to a six-point game — so we knew they were a good team.”

Marshalltown is back at home tonight, hosting Des Moines Lincoln in the final regular-season game inside the Roundhouse. The Bobcats have added a non-conference game Thursday at Bondurant-Farrar, and the Class 4A substate tournament begins next Monday night at home against Des Moines Roosevelt.

Marshalltown 50, Norwalk 49

NORWALK (12-8) — Redek Born 3 0-0 7, Grant Larson 4 2-2 12, Max Juergens 1 1-2 3, Cole Tunender 3 1-2 7, Sam Eggers 0 0-0 0, Evan Borst 0 0-0 0, Joe Brown 3 6-8 12, Braden Carlson 0 0-0 0, Ethan Carllson 1 6-6 8. TOTALS 15 16-20 49.

MARSHALLTOWN (5-11) — Armonniey Thomas 5 0-0 10, Grant Greazel 2 0-0 5, Drake Kapayou 1 0-0 3, Prince Jallah 4 7-10 15, Isaiah Borgos 4 0-0 11, Ivan Alvarado 2 0-0 5, Justin Melde 0 0-0 0. TOTALS 18 7-10 50.

NORWALK 6 9 18 16 — 49

MHS 9 18 14 9 — 50

3-Point Goals–Norwalk 3 (Larson 2, Born), MHS 7 (Borgos 3, Greazel 2, Alvarado, Kapayou). Team Fouls–Norwalk 14, MHS 15. Fouled out–none.