The Marshalltown boys’ basketball team opened the game with a fiery burst of offense.

The Bobcats finished it with their stingy defense.

Jacob Hayes scored a game-high 17 points and Marshalltown remained unbeaten in Iowa Alliance Conference play with a 45-34 triumph over Waterloo East on Tuesday night at the Roundhouse, setting up a showdown with fifth-ranked Ames (8-1, 3-0) on Thursday at the Harrison Barnes Gymnasium.

The two top defenses in all of Class 4A, Ames (39.8) and Marshalltown (40.1) allow fewer points than the other 46 teams across the state.

Tuesday’s victory was another case-in-point by the Bobcats (7-2, 3-0), who gave up just five points in the first quarter and eventually got out to a 16-point lead before halftime.

MHS scored the game’s first eight points, followed with an 11-0 run and led by as many as 16 — 25-9 — late in the second quarter.

Waterloo East chipped away at the deficit behind its one-man show, but the Trojans couldn’t make the comeback against Marshalltown’s relentless defense.

“That was huge for us tonight, that was the best part about the game,” said MHS head coach Michael Appel. “We defended really well at a high level. We played hard, and that’s been consistent. [Waterloo East] had a really hard time scoring in the first half.”

The Bobcats allowed the Trojans to score fewer than 10 points in three of four quarters and overcame a stumble in the third quarter to keep Waterloo East at bay. Junior guard Drake Gersema went down with an injury, but Marshalltown responded to the adversity.

“We battled through some adversity there and bounced back the right way and made some plays when we needed to and got some stops when we needed to,” Appel said. “That was awesome to see.

“We got some momentum and we responded the right way and kind of just stuck with it. We continued to play hard and then grinded it out.”

Marshalltown got outscored 14-7 in the third quarter as Waterloo East climbed back to within five, 32-27, going into the fourth. An opening basket for Gianni Gary got the Trojans to within three, 32-29, but the Bobcats answered with a pair of three-point plays.

Hayes cashed in one of his three 3-pointers and Gavin Misek tallied a traditional three-point play to regain a nine-point advantage, and MHS went 5-for-6 at the free-throw line down the stretch to seal the win.

Davieon VanArsdale led Waterloo East with 15 points, scoring his team’s first nine. There were two minutes left in the first half before another Trojan got on the scoreboard, but a more balanced attack in the second half kept East in the running.

Kyle Smith contributed 10 points, 10 rebounds, two steals and two blocked shots for the Bobcats, while Misek and Drake Gersema got seven points apiece. Jamison Niehouse and Larrs Schoenfelder pitched in two points apiece.

Gersema added six rebounds and three assists to the final statistics.

Marshalltown 45, Waterloo East 34

WATERLOO EAST (2-5, 1-2) — Isaiah Thomas 1 0-0 3, Jadyn Perkins 0 0-0 0, Davieon VanArsdale 6 0-1 15, Gianni Gary 3 0-0 6, Dejon Bynum 0 0-0 0, Quayshon Harrington-Johnson 1 0-0 2, Jeremy Waters-Wright 3 1-1 8. TOTALS 14 1-2 34.

MARSHALLTOWN (7-2, 3-0) — Drake Gersema 2 3-4 7, Kyle Smith 2 3-4 7, Damian Segovia 0 0-0 0, Jacob Hayes 6 3-3 17, Larrs Schoenfelder 0 2-2 2, Jamison Niehouse 1 0-0 2, Gavin Misek 3 1-1 7. TOTALS 16 9-10 45.

W’LOO EAST 5 8 14 7 — 34

MHS 15 10 7 13 — 45

3-Point Goals–Waterloo East 5 (VanArsdale 3, Thomas, Waters-Wright), MHS 4 (Smith 2, Hayes 2). Team Fouls–Waterloo East 10, MHS 6. Fouled Out–none.