The Marshalltown boys’ basketball team played its final game before the holiday break without its starting point guard, and the team’s leading scorer was held to two points.

Not the way MHS head coach Michael Appel drew it up, but it turned out to be a masterpiece nonetheless.

Sophomore guard Gavin Misek scored a career-high 21 points in his first varsity start, freshman guard Damian Segovia had a career-high 12, and Marshalltown mowed down Fort Dodge 53-33 in Friday’s Iowa Alliance Conference North Division showdown inside the Roundhouse.

MHS senior forward Jacob Hayes got his career-high 17 points as well as the Bobcats (5-2, 2-0) broke down Fort Dodge’s box-and-one defense on leading scorer Kyle Smith and made the Dodgers pay.

Misek shot 9-of-12 from the field, going 3-for-5 from 3-point range, and was the fifth player to lead the Bobcats in scoring in a game this season.

Smith, who averages a team-leading 14.5 points, didn’t even attempt a shot in the first half. His team didn’t need him to.

“That just speaks volumes to our team and willingness to just accept what the other team is doing and giving ourselves the best chance to win,” said MHS head coach Michael Appel. “I’m incredibly proud of Kyle for doing that. There’s not too many players in the state that’d be OK with that, but he is.”

Misek didn’t expect the scoring onus to fall on him, but the opportunity presented itself and he was able to take advantage of it.

“I tried to get as much hustle points as possible and I was just in the right place at the right time,” said Misek, who had scored 10 points in the first six games combined. “I had a little more motivation after the first couple buckets and I’m like ‘oh yeah, I can do that.’

“It means a lot. I never thought I would be in this position … but the ball went in when it needed to.”

The Bobcats finished three points shy of matching their season-high scoring output (56) despite Smith being limited to just two. Smith still pulled down a team-leading nine rebounds, had two assists and two steals as Marshalltown pulled away after a hotly contested first quarter.

The Bobcats led 12-11 after the opening period but never trailed, sparked early by 3-pointers from Misek and Segovia. Joined by Hayes, the trio combined to score all of Marshalltown’s 25 points in the first half.

“I thought Gavin was really good tonight,” Appel said. “We saw his ability to score the ball, but defensively he was great as well. So that’s just a huge confidence boost for him. Damian had a very solid night too. He made some shots, drove it at times and attacked the middle of that zone and was just very solid all-around.”

Marshalltown managed to commit just 10 turnovers in their first game this season without junior point guard Drake Gersema handling the ball, which was an encouraging sign for Appel’s squad heading into the break.

“We’ve seen in practices how hard they compete, how much they want to do it on a day-to-day basis,” Appel said of his squad. “It’s not just the guys that are playing, it’s our whole group collectively. I just think we’re really bought in and we’re approaching each day to get better. We practice hard and we understand what it takes to continue to improve and not be satisfied.”

Reggie Pederson led Fort Dodge (1-6, 0-3) with nine points but left the game midway through the fourth quarter after an injury scare. Hayden Zuspann added a pair of 3-pointers for six points.

Marshalltown returns for the new year with a game on Friday, Jan. 2, at home against Council Bluffs Thomas Jefferson.

Marshalltown 53, Fort Dodge 33

FORT DODGE (1-6, 0-3) — Taevon Feeley 2 1-1 5, Hayden Zuspann 2 0-0 6, Tytrell Mosley 2 0-2 4, Reggie Pederson 4 1-2 9, Brody Maehl 2 0-0 4, Gavin Davis 0 0-0 0, Karter Hemrick 1 0-0 3, Kyree Rochon 0 0-0 0, Tisyn Hook 1 0-0 2, Dterrius Johnson 0 0-0 0, Kauner Jensen 0 0-0 0. TOTALS 14 2-5 33.

MARSHALLTOWN (5-2, 2-0) — Gavin Misek 9 0-0 21, Kyle Smith 1 0-0 2, Damian Segovia 4 1-2 12, Jacob Hayes 8 0-1 17, Larrs Schoenfelder 0 1-2 1, Hunter Fors 0 0-0 0, Talon Halsted 0 0-0 0, Tyler Dorothy 0 0-0 0, Oliver Young 0 0-0 0, Garrett Thede 0 0-0 0. TOTALS 22 2-5 53.

FORT DODGE 11 6 8 8 — 33

MHS 12 11 18 12 — 53

3-Point Goals–FD 3 (Zuspann 2, Hemrick), MHS 7 (Misek 3, Segovia 3, Hayes). Team Fouls–FD 12, MHS 5.