Dec 21, 2024
T-R PHOTO BY JAKE RYDER – Marshalltown junior guard Kyle Smith (10) drives to the basket around Fort Dodge’s Cade Westerhoff during the first half of Friday’s Iowa Alliance Conference basketball game at the Roundhouse. Smith had a game-high 18 points in the Bobcats’ 56-31 victory.
LaMar Johnson’s toughness on Friday night made it tough on Fort Dodge as the Marshalltown senior scored 16 points in a 56-31 romp over the Dodgers at the Roundhouse.
Johnson scored 16 points on 8-of-12 shooting with five rebounds.
Not bad for a player that was throwing up in the locker room at halftime, according to MHS head coach Michael Appel.
“The guys were saying ‘Oh, we’re going to need to sub for LaMar,’ and I said, ‘I don’t think we do,’” Appel added. “He’s just tough, man. That’s what he brings for us every night. He’ll guard one of their best players, play as hard as he can and do whatever he’s asked to win.”
Appel said it was a complete 180 from a 64-42 loss to Mason City 24 hours prior, starting with a basket from Kyle Smith who was 1-for-11 with six points against the Riverhawks on Thursday.
T-R PHOTO BY JAKE RYDER – Marshalltown’s Zane Moore, front, and LaMar Johnson battle for a loose ball in the lane during Friday’s Iowa Alliance Conference basketball game against Fort Dodge.
Smith exploded for 16 of his 18 points on Friday in the first 11 minutes of the game.
“That got us fired up,” Johnson added. “Seeing one of your guys make it so many times just gets you amped up and ready to play, too.”
It also garnered him a lot of attention from Fort Dodge, which guys like Johnson and Drake Gersema, who finished with 11 points, capitalized on to score early and often inside the paint.
“I was just driving hard and being patient,” Johnson said. “We didn’t want to think too much about the loss from last night and just be prepared for this today.”
The Bobcats led 28-17 at halftime and started the third quarter on a 12-1 run to effectively put Fort Dodge out of reach. The 31 points allowed is a new season best for the MHS defense.
“I thought our scout report was good at understanding who their guys were and favoring them defensively more than other guys and just making other guys try to beat us,” Appel said. “And we rebounded the ball so much better tonight and didn’t allow them to get second chance points.”
Marshalltown has now won the last 10 meetings in this series going back to 2019. The Bobcats head to 2025 with a 3-4 overall record.
“It’s a good win, good grades, everybody’s locked in, focused,” Johnson said. “We’re ready for Christmas.’
Appel and the Bobcats are glad to be going in with a win after two losses earlier in the week.
“It keeps the guys excited and ready to work,” Appel added. “We’ve got a lot of work to do during break, don’t get me wrong, but we had some guys stepping up, Zane Moore is playing more minutes from us, and we like where we’re at after this game tonight, and we saw a lot of the things we didn’t see against Mason City the night before.”
MHS returns to action at Waterloo East on Jan. 7, 2025.
Marshalltown 56, Fort Dodge 31
FORT DODGE (0-5, 0-2) — Carter Woodruff 1 3-4 5, Cade Westerhoff 6 1-2 13, Tayven Altman 1 0-0 2, Hayden Zuspann 2 0-0 5, Kauner Jensen 0 0-0 0, Gavin Davis 0 0-0 0, Tytrell Mosley 1 0-0 2, Reggie Pederson 2 0-2 4, Tisyn Hook 0 0-0 0. TOTALS 13 4-8 31.
MARSHALLTOWN (3-4, 1-1) — Jamison Niehouse 2 0-0 4, Drake Gersema 5 0-0 11, Kyle Smith 8 0-0 18, LaMar Johnson 8 0-0 16, Jacob Hayes 3 0-0 7, Dominyc Clure 0 0-0 0, Adam Boone 0 0-0 0, Zane Moore 0 0-0 0, Talon Halsted 0 0-0 0, Will Swartz 0 0-0 0, Arion Hancock 0 0-0 0. TOTALS 26 0-0 56.
FORT DODGE 8 9 6 8 — 31
MHS 13 15 16 12 — 56
3-Point Goals–Fort Dodge 1 (Zuspann), MHS 4 (Smith 2, Gersema, Hayes). Team Fouls–Fort Dodge 6, MHS 13. Fouled Out–none.
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