A 20-point third quarter powered the PCM boys basketball team to 53-33 victory over West Marshall Tuesday, while the Mustangs’ girls team fell to the Class 3A #4 ranked Trojans 67-35 in a doubleheader heard live on KNIAKRLS.com.

The PCM boys grabbed the early advantage over West Marshall and never looked back. Jacob Wendt’s 11-point first half gave the Mustangs a 22-15 advantage at halftime. In the third quarter, PCM shot 53% from the field to score 20 points as they grew the lead to 42-26 heading into the final period. While the box score reflects the offensive outburst, Wendt said the big third quarter began on the other end of the floor.

“I think our defense in just terms of like our guards getting a lot of steals and pushing the ball and then just like looking and finding the open people and just dribble penetration and finding the open people down low, I think that was really big for us.”

The Mustangs finished the game outscoring the Trojans 11-7, to improve to 6-12 overall and 5-7 in the Heart of Iowa Conference. Wendt finished the contest with a game-high 20 points, while Gavin Van Gorp added 18 points in the win. 

The PCM girls team struggled to keep pace with a ranked West Marshall squad in the opening game of the doubleheader. The Mustangs would tie the contest a 3-3 at the 6:10 mark of the first quarter, but that would be as close as they got in the game. The Trojans closed the period on a 13-5 run to lead 16-8 after the first quarter and pushed the advantage to 35-15 at the intermission. PCM’s deficit grew to 55-27 after the third period, before they ultimately dropped to 9-10 overall and 6-6 in league play with the 67-35 loss. Tori Lindsay led the Mustangs in scoring with 10 points, while Addison Steenhoek added nine in the loss.

Hear the full interview with Jacob Wendt on tonight’s Radio Sports Page. The Mustangs are back in action Friday, when they host a pair of ranked Roland-Story teams for Senior Night.