A seemingly reinvigorated Pella High boys basketball team returned to the form they had displayed a week before in a dominant win over Norwalk, as they overwhelmed Oskaloosa in a 76-42 win last night to complete a sweep by the Dutch varsity squads in Oskaloosa. Up by seven through the first quarter of play, the Little Dutch began to pull away in the second quarter, and a buzzer-beating three-pointer by Schyler Kane just before the halftime horn seemingly sucked any remaining hope out of the Indians for a comeback.

With nine players scoring between 5 and 12 points apiece, the Little Dutch closed out the victory with a 15-9 fourth quarter to finish strong through the final horn. Senior forward Jake Wassenaar said the team got much tougher in the mental aspects of the game after Tuesday’s loss at Newton.

“I thought we got a lot of things sorted out, especially on the mental side,” said Wassenaar, “just making sure that we’re ready to play any team that comes our way, and I think that really showed tonight.”

Wassenaar finished with 7 points and 5 rebounds in a key effort in the paint, helping the Dutch claim a 40-25 advantage on the glass. Sam Davis’s 12 points led all scorers, with Grant Barrick and Kane close behind with 11 points each. The Pella boys improved to 8-5 overall with the win and are 7-2 in the Little Hawkeye Conference. They’ll return home this afternoon to face Dallas Center-Grimes, and head coach Mark Core says he has no doubt about his team being ready to go again when they face the Mustangs.

“I’m not concerned about getting these guys up [emotionally], because they like to play basketball,” said Core. “We’ll watch some film, and try and get an idea of what we’re going to face with DC-G [Dallas Center-Grimes], but as far as when the ball goes up, I know our guys will be playing hard. There’s no question about that.”

Both Pella High varsity basketball squads are in action against Dallas Center-Grimes this afternoon, with the girls’ contest tipping off first at 3:00 p.m. at Pella High School.

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