Marshalltown boys’ basketball coach Michael Appel came into the season searching for more offense, but he won’t have to look far to find his team’s defense.

The Bobcats held Newton to its lowest point total in nearly a calendar year, clamping down on the Cardinals for a 42-33 victory on Thursday night inside the Roundhouse.

Three players scored in double figures for Marshalltown (2-0), which trailed by as many as five points during the first half but held the lead the entire fourth quarter. Newton (1-1) used an 8-0 run midway through the third quarter to capture a 23-21 lead, but the Bobcats showed their grit to get it back.

Drake Gersema scored consecutive layups and Kyle Smith’s 3-pointer put the Bobcats up 28-23, and they never trailed again.

“That’s probably one of the most gutsy, grind-it-out wins I’ve been a part of as a coach,” said MHS head coach Michael Appel. “I’m just so proud of their effort for sticking with it.”

Leading 28-25 to open the fourth quarter, consecutive 3-pointers by Smith made it a nine-point margin for Marshalltown, and Newton couldn’t put together enough of a run to get back into it.

The Cardinals got a 3-pointer by Dawson Maki and a jumper by Brody Wobschall to get back to within 37-33, but MHS closed out the non-conference win with just enough free throws down the stretch.

Freshman guard Damian Segovia hit two from the charity stripe with 1:07 left, junior point guard Drake Gersema got 1-of-2 with 11 seconds remaining and added a layup before the buzzer to bring the score to its final margin.

Gersema and Smith scored 14 points apiece to pace Marshalltown, and senior Jacob Hayes had 12 points. He went 6-of-7 at the free-throw line as MHS went 11-for-17 from the stripe while Newton was just 4-of-5 from the line.

Maki scored a game-high 19 points lead Newton, and Wobschall finished with seven. Isaiah Slaughter, who scored 25 points in the Cardinals’ opening win over Grinnell, had just five.

“Our defense was great tonight,” Appel said. “I thought our effort and communication was just really, really good. And that obviously won us the game.

“We didn’t score a lot either, but if we continue with that (defense) there’s going to be a lot of good things to come just by way of defensive effort. If you can defend, you’ll always find ways of staying in games.”

Smith pulled down 15 rebounds as well, while Hayes and freshman forward Larrs Schoenfelder had six boards apiece.

“They were great,” Appel said of his freshmen (Segovia, Schoenfelder) and sophomore (Misek) who took to the court on Thursday night. “They’re continuing to learn, they continue to work hard, so that effort is there. They just understand their role out there and they’re not playing outside of what we need them to do.”

The Bobcats are back at it tonight inside the Roundhouse, hosting Des Moines East for a 7:45 p.m. contest.

Marshalltown 42, Newton 33

NEWTON (1-1) — Dawson Maki 7 4-5 19, Karter Holmes 1 0-0 2, Isaiah Slaughter 2 0-0 5, Brody Wobschall 3 0-0 7, Grant Osby 0 0-0 0, Tyler Thompson 0 0-0 0, Micah Mattes 0 0-0 0. TOTALS 13 4-5 33.

MARSHALLTOWN (2-0) — Drake Gersema 5 3-4 14, Kyle Smith 5 0-0 14, Jacob Hayes 3 6-7 12, Larrs Schoenfelder 0 0-4 0, Damian Segovia 0 2-2 2, Gavin Misek 0 0-0 0. TOTALS 13 11-17 42.

NEWTON 10 2 13 8 — 33

MHS 8 6 14 14 — 42

3-Point Goals–Newton 3 (Maki, Slaughter, Wobschall); MHS 5 (Smith 4, Gersema). Team Fouls–Newton 15, MHS 12. Fouled Out–none.