AMES — Ninth-ranked Ames marched a ceremoniously senior starting lineup onto the court for Tuesday’s Iowa Alliance Conference North Division clash against Marshalltown to celebrate its Senior Night.

It didn’t seem to bother those five Little Cyclones, but it sure got to the Bobcats.

Ames fired out of the gate with four 3-pointers in the first quarter and marched past Marshalltown for a 61-30 triumph in Tuesday’s divisional contest at Ames High School.

The starting lineup gave the Little Cyclones (16-2, 8-0) an 18-2 lead before the regular starters took the floor and finished off what the reserves had started. Ames led 21-2 after the opening quarter and 30-8 at the half.

“By the time that first quarter was over, it was kind of the same deal as the first time we played Ames,” MHS head coach Michael Appel said. “It was gonna be tough to come back from that.

“It really starts before the game, you’ve gotta be even more prepared to play. This isn’t the first time I’ve said that this season so we’ve got to make some changes on how we approach games to be ready to go.”

Marshalltown (5-12, 2-5) played Ames even in the second half, 22-22, while giving some of its own regulars a little bit of rest.

MHS senior LaMar Johnson was in street clothes coming out of the halftime locker room and junior standout Kyle Smith was working to stop a nosebleed that refused to subside throughout the second half, leaving a lot of added playing time for the rest of the Bobcat roster.

Sophomore guard Drake Gersema led MHS with seven points, four rebounds and three assists, while Jacob Hayes finished with five points. Senior guard Dominyc Clure came away with four points, Adam Boone sank a 3-pointer, and Arion Hancock collected his first varsity points of the season with a fourth-quarter trifecta.

“They started five seniors who really none of them have really touched the floor and they’re doing what they did to us,” Appel said. “That’s more about what we’re doing or not doing and not being ready and being prepared. That was the unfortunate part about it — we really didn’t give ourselves a chance in that game.

“You’ve gotta have a mindset of competing and trying to beat whoever we’re playing. I know I’m being pretty negative right now, but we have expectations for our players and how we want to play as a program and we didn’t reach those tonight. Weren’t even close.”

Ames 61, Marshalltown 30

MARSHALLTOWN (5-12, 2-5) — Jamison Niehouse 1 0-0 2, Drake Gersema 3 0-0 7, Kyle Smith 1 0-0 2, LaMar Johnson 1 0-1 2, Jacob Hayes 2 0-0 5, Dominyc Clure 1 2-2 4, Adam Boone 1 0-0 3, Levi Bell 0 0-0 0, Tyler Dorothy 0 0-0 0, Will Swartz 1 0-0 2, Arion Hancock 1 0-0 3. TOTALS 12 2-3 30.

AMES (16-2, 8-0) — Trevor Goodwin 0 0-0 0, Finley DeLisi 1 0-0 3, Garang Deng 0 0-0 0, Luke Brekke 2 0-0 5, Athian Deng 4 0-0 10, Manny Lueth 1 0-0 2, Jamison Poe 1 1-2 3, Kuach Kuach 2 0-0 4, Cole Swartz 0 0-0 0, Isaiah Knight 5 0-0 10, Will Thomas 2 1-1 5, Isaac Bivins 0 0-0 0, Abram Vos 5 0-0 11, Marach Dau 1 0-0 2, Brandon Johnson 1 0-0 2, DJ Bijiek 1 0-0 2. TOTALS 27 2-3 61.

MHS 2 6 10 12 — 30

AMES 21 18 12 10 — 61

3-Point Goals–MHS 4 (Gersema, Boone, Hayes, Hancock), Ames 5 (A. Deng 2, DeLisi, Vos, Brekke). Team Fouls–MHS 4, Ames 4. Fouled Out–none.