DES MOINES — The Bobcats caught the Scarlets red-handed.

The Marshalltown boys’ basketball team stole a win from host Des Moines East on Friday night, foiling the Scarlets for a 53-49 triumph in an Iowa Alliance Conference clash on Sam L. Powell Court.

The Bobcats (13-7) trailed by as many as 11 points in the fourth quarter before starting a comeback that sucked the energy and emotion out of East’s raucous hometown crowd. Marshalltown outscored the Scarlets 20-7 in the fourth quarter, including a 13-0 run that erased that double-digit deficit and gave it its first lead since the final minute of the first quarter.

Des Moines East (11-9), which beat the Bobcats 45-42 thanks to a 14-6 fourth-quarter advantage on Dec. 5, 2025, at the Roundhouse, couldn’t close this one out.

Jacob Hayes had eight of his game-high 18 points in the fourth quarter, Gersema got five of his 15 in the final frame, but it was a pair of Gersema steals that swiped the wind from the Scarlets’ sails.

“We just grinded it out and showed some toughness there,” said MHS head coach Michael Appel. “I challenged them a little bit in the timeout, saying ‘we gotta be tougher, guys.’ They were playing harder than us, speeding us up a little bit — we’ve just gotta be more sound, take good shots, don’t let them rush us.

“Ultimately we got some stops and we were able to do that in the fourth quarter and make a run.”

Back-to-back Bobcat turnovers took Des Moines East’s lead to 46-35, but that’s when Marshalltown decided to rally. Freshman guard Damian Segovia converted a three-point play, Hayes swished a 3-pointer and then knocked down a jumper from the elbow to cut the deficit to 46-43.

Kyle Smith was sent to the free-throw line after getting fouled shooting a 3-pointer, but he made just one freebie with 3:04 remaining to keep it a two-point margin.

After an East timeout, Gersema stripped the Scarlets from behind and Hayes brought the Bobcats back into a 46-all tie with a layup. Another timeout later, Gersema got his hand in and out of the cookie jar for a steal and layup that put the Bobcats in front for good, 48-46.

Up one, Segovia sank a 3-pointer with one minute left that lifted Marshalltown’s lead into multiple possessions, and the Scarlets couldn’t get their long-range shots to fall the rest of the way.

“We were in a rare situation we haven’t been in a lot of this season where Kyle’s not making his shots and he’s in foul trouble,” Appel said. “We run a lot of our stuff to him, but we responded well. We just stuck with it. We made some big plays and made some big shots. Damian hit a big shot there when they switched to a zone and put us up by four.”

Hayes finished with team-highs of 18 points and nine rebounds, while Gersema tallied 15 points, six assists and two steals. Smith finished with 10 points, Segovia got eight and Jamison Niehouse had two points and five boards in the Bobcats’ final road game of the regular season.

Samson Amenu led East with 12 points, Cedrique Irishura had 11 and Julius Manson 10. The Scarlets made seven 3-pointers while seeking back-to-back wins after having lost five in a row, but the Bobcats refused to relent at the end.

MHS closes the regular season at home on Monday against Des Moines North — another opportunity for redemption.

“This win is huge,” Appel said, “figuring out ways to win differently. We’re not making shots, we didn’t shoot it well from the free-throw line — to be honest, just kind of a frustrating game as a coach because it’s like ‘where is this coming from?’

“Ultimately it was just making plays and figuring out ways, ways to win the game and gutting it out and sticking with it and understanding we’re never out of the game, stick together and stay the course.”

Marshalltown 53, Des Moines East 49

MARSHALLTOWN (13-7) — Jamison Niehouse 1 0-0 2, Drake Gersema 6 2-3 15, Kyle Smith 3 2-5 10, Damian Segovia 2 3-3 8, Jacob Hayes 7 2-4 18, Gavin Misek 0 0-0 0, Larrs Schoenfelder 0 0-0 0. TOTALS 19 9-15 53.

DM EAST (11-9) — Jayvion Hanson 3 0-0 7, Samson Amenu 5 0-0 12, Julius Manson 4 0-0 10, Cedrique Irishura 3 3-5 11, Malik Williams 2 1-3 5, D’Angelo Parker 0 0-2 0, Donovan Rockers 0 0-0 0, Jayleonce Weber 0 0-0 0, Daniel Tut 0 0-0 0, Tresaun Parker 2 0-0 4. TOTALS 19 4-10 49.

MHS 14 10 9 20 — 53

DM EAST 18 11 13 7 — 49

3-Point Goals–MHS 6 (Smith 2, Hayes 2, Gersema, Segovia), DM East 7 (Amenu 2, Manson 2, Irishura 2, Hanson). Team Fouls–MHS 10, DM East 14. Fouled Out–Amenu.