Kyle Smith

AMES — The Marshalltown boys’ basketball team trailed Class 4A No. 5 Ames the entire game, went nearly the entire third quarter without scoring, and fell behind by as many 14 points.

None of that was enough to scare off the Bobcats.

Not until Will Thomas made four free throws in the final 45 seconds did the Little Cyclones finish off Marshalltown in a 37-35 win on Thursday night inside Harrison Barnes Gymnasium.

“Just incredibly proud of our guys, our effort and our focus,” said MHS head coach Michael Appel. “We put in a zone — we’ve been man(-to-man) all year — and we really just had four days to practice it, and for them to understand and their effort and execution was great. It wasn’t perfect by any means, but I couldn’t be more proud.”

In an Iowa Alliance Conference battle between the 4A’s top two defensive teams, Marshalltown (7-3, 3-1) held the fifth-ranked Little Cyclones (9-1, 4-0) to their season-low scoring output with a combination of zone defenses and solid rebounding considering a decided height advantage for Ames.

DJ Bijiek, listed at 6-foot-9, and Marach Dau (6-8) combined to score just two points, but their presence around the rim made it hard for Marshalltown to score in the paint.

The Bobcats, who rank 44th out of 48 teams in 4A in scoring offense (46.9), still had the Little Cyclones reeling before the final horn. Jacob Hayes made a 3-pointer with less than five seconds left to get MHS within two, but Ames didn’t have to inbound the ball as time ran out.

“Obviously would have liked to win … but how we responded in that fourth quarter and made a run was huge,” Appel said. “Just proud overall of our effort. That’s been consistent obviously all year.”

The Bobcats outscored Ames 17-8 in the fourth quarter to nearly overcome a 29-18 deficit after three periods. Larrs Schoenfelder’s three-point play was Marshalltown’s only points of the third quarter, but it kicked off a 10-0 Bobcat surge that included Ames not scoring for the first four minutes of the fourth.

Ames scored four in a row before Damian Segovia’s 3-pointer and Drake Gersema’s hoop-and-harm layup over Bijiek got the Bobcats within 33-30 with 50 seconds left. Gersema’s missed free throw was an unfortunate trend for MHS on this night, however, and Thomas went 4-for-4 at the line to help the Little Cyclones close out the win.

“In a game like this every point matters,” Appel said, “you gotta knock those (free throws) down. Those add up.”

Both teams made 13 field goals with five 3-pointers, but Ames was 6-for-7 at the free-throw line while the Bobcats went 4-for-8.

“Our coaching staff was kinda joking before the game started and we said the first one to 40 is going to win this game,” Appel said. “Neither team got to 40 but they scored two more points than us.”

Marshalltown’s 35 points was its second-lowest of the season, but only three points short of an upset.

“What we’ve got going right now is awesome,” Appel said. “It’s a fun group to coach. They’re consistent every day in practice. To not back down and show some fight there and show some grit, that’s gonna continue to help us build and build as the season goes on.”

Kyle Smith scored a team-leading 11 points to go with five rebounds for the Bobcats. Hayes added eight points, Gersema got six points and a team-high seven rebounds, and Segovia finished with five points. Schoenfelder (3) and Jamison Niehouse (2) pitched in as well.

Thomas led Ames with nine points, while Moses Lueth and Brandon Johnson added eight points each.

The Bobcats resume with a three-game week starting at home on Monday against Cedar Rapids Jefferson (0-7).

Ames 37, Marshalltown 35

MARSHALLTOWN (7-3, 3-1) — Drake Gersema 3 0-3 6, Kyle Smith 4 1-2 11, Damian Segovia 1 2-2 5, Jacob Hayes 3 0-0 8, Larrs Schoenfelder 1 1-1 3, Jamison Niehouse 1 0-0 2, Gavin Misek 0 0-0 0. TOTALS 13 4-8 35.

AMES (9-1, 4-0) — Kuach Kuach 1 0-0 3, Will Thomas 2 4-4 9, Max Burgason-Sutton 2 0-0 4, Marach Dau 0 0-0 0, DJ Bijiek 1 0-0 2, Ben Weiss 1 0-0 3, Moses Lueth 2 2-3 8, Brandon Johnson 4 0-0 8. TOTALS 13 6-7 37.

MHS 4 11 3 17 — 35

AMES 7 11 11 8 — 37

3-Point Goals–MHS 5 (Smith 2, Hayes 2, Segovia), Ames 5 (Lueth 2, Kuach, Weiss, Thomas). Team Fouls–MHS 9, Ames 10. Fouled Out–none.