With every wave of momentum Marshalltown could muster, Iowa City High had a response.

The Bobcat boys’ basketball team surrendered the game’s first 15 points and yet got to within four points three times in the second half of Monday’s Class 4A Substate 4 opening-round loss to the Little Hawks, 51-45, inside the Roundhouse.

Iowa City High (8-14) won for the sixth time in its last seven games to advance to Friday’s substate semifinal at top-ranked Cedar Falls (20-0), while the Bobcats (14-8) were left to contemplate just how that happened.

The Little Hawks’ 15-0 start to the game had a lot to do with it, using an extended 1-3-1 defense to pressure Marshalltown into five turnovers before it had even scored a point. The Bobcats finally got on the board with 1 minutes, 45 seconds left in the opening period with Damian Segovia’s assist on a Jamison Niehouse layup, and Gavin Misek’s 3-pointer helped MHS stem the initial tide to make it 15-5 at the break.

we got down 15 within the first five minutes of the game and that obviously makes it tough to try and scratch and claw back,” said MHS head coach Michael Appel. “But we did. We gave effort there and anytime I felt like we were getting right close to getting over the hump and coming back, they would get those offensive rebounds and putbacks and second-chance points. Really, turnovers and rebounding was the difference in the game tonight.”

True to form, the Bobcats continued to fight back from behind and nearly caught all the way up. Back-to-back 3-pointers by Segovia and Kyle Smith made it 30-26 Little Hawks with 4:50 left in the third quarter, but Iowa City High answered in kind with a 9-0 run to remain a 13-point advantage.

A pair of 3-pointers by Smith to close out the third kicked off another ‘Cat comeback, teeing up a 13-2 Marshalltown rally that closed the deficit to two, 41-39. Jacob Hayes hit a 3-pointer and a baseline jumper and Larrs Schoenfelder knocked down two free throws to get it that close, but again, Iowa City High had the response.

A 7-0 Little Hawk surge stretched the margin back to nine, but Hayes scored six in a row for the Bobcats to bring it to 49-45 with 23.8 seconds showing.

Trying to foul City High’s 6-foot-6 senior center Christopher Watkins to force him to the free-throw line, Niehouse got the job done but couldn’t get the whistle. Watkins put back his own miss to make it 51-45 with 9.6 seconds left, and the Bobcats couldn’t score as time expired.

“I thought we would make a run and get back in the game, that’s just our guys,” Appel said. “Their effort and then just how they go about every game — they want to win. I thought we would battle back and our guys did a great job of doing that. Ultimately we couldn’t make a few plays there at the end.”

Smith sank six 3-pointers to finish with a game-high 18 points to lead Marshalltown in the season-ending defeat. Hayes had 11 points, Misek and Segovia got five points, Niehouse had four and Schoenfelder added two free throws.

Smith and Drake Gersema had four assists each, while Niehouse led the Bobcats with four rebounds.

Watkins led Iowa City High with 14 points while Coden Kurtz and Iyon Harris had 10 apiece. The Little Hawks capitalized on their height advantage and turned offensive rebounds into 14 second-chance points to ward off the Marshalltown comeback.

“We’re never going to quit,” Smith said. “That’s what we’ve done all year and that’s what we’ve tried to accomplish all year. It’s sad that it’s over but this team worked hard every day and made sure that we’re going to go out and be the best versions of ourselves every day.”

Smith, Hayes, Talon Halsted and Tyler Dorothy represent the Bobcats’ graduating seniors, and they represented the program well.

“There’s a lot of sad, sad guys in that locker room right now, including the coaching staff,” said Appel, “because we just love these guys so much. They’ve set a standard for how you go about your business every single day with just how much they’re coachable, the respect they have for everybody, how they respond to certain situations. They’re very resilient, they love the game, they care about it, they’re passionate about it, and they’re incredible teammates.

“I couldn’t say enough about our four seniors and what they’ve built.”

Iowa City High 51, Marshalltown 45

IOWA CITY HIGH (8-14) — Jack Lampe 2 2-2 6, Coden Kurtz 3 2-4 10, Christopher Watkins 7 0-2 14, Iyon Harris 3 3-4 10, Davion Hopkins 3 0-0 6, Jack Rogers 0 0-0 0, Jude Foley 0 0-0 0, Joseph Bird 2 0-0 5. TOTALS 20 7-12 51.

MARSHALLTOWN (14-8) — Jamison Niehouse 1 2-2 4, Drake Gersema 0 0-0 0, Kyle Smith 6 0-0 18, Damian Segovia 2 0-0 5, Jacob Hayes 3 3-4 11, Gavin Misek 2 0-0 5, Larrs Schoenfelder 0 2-2 2. TOTALS 14 7-8 45.

IC HIGH 15 13 11 12 — 51

MHS 5 12 15 13 — 45

3-Point Goals–IC High 4 (Kurtz 2, Harris, Bird), MHS 10 (Smith 6, Hayes 2, Segovia, Misek). Team Fouls–IC High 13, MHS 12. Fouled Out–Hopkins.