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After sputtering out of the gates in the first half, the Pella boys basketball team regained their focus and firepower in the second half, as they broke away for a 56-35 win in Knoxville. Poor shooting and multiple turnovers had the teams locked at a lowly 8-8 tie through the first quarter of play, and play only improved marginally in the second half, as Pella held a 15-22 advantage going into the intermission. Pella Head Coach Mark Core said it was at that time when things began to turn around.

Knoxville Coach Brad McWilliams liked the effort in the first half but the second half was a different story.

The Little Dutch erupted for 23 points in the third quarter, while holding Knoxville to just four points and putting the game away. Center Chris Bandstra had a game-high 11 points, while teammates Nathan Buchheit and Nick Dorman each chipped in eight points.

Knoxville was led by C-J Wright with nine points. The Pella boys are now 13-2 overall and 12-1 in the conference going into Saturday’s non-conference road trip to Fairfield. Knoxville is now four-and-13 on the season and three-and-ten in the Little Hawkeye Conference.