Getting through arguably their toughest task on their road to the Class 2A boys’ state basketball tournament, the Pella Christian Eagles only have to get through Notre Dame – Burlington tonight in Ottumwa to qualify for a trip to the Wells Fargo Arena. The Eagles beat PCM 40 – 35 this past Tuesday to get to this evening’s substate match-up. The Nikes squeaked by Mediapolis 53 – 51 also on Tuesday to earn the right to play for a ticket to Des Moines. In the postgame of Tuesday night’s victory, Eagles’ coach, Larry Hessing gave us a quick scouting report on Notre Dame – Burlington.
“I know that Burlington, Notre-Dame has had a good season,” Hessing said. “They had only one loss up to a couple of weeks ago and they’ve lost a couple since then. They played some really good teams. Two of their losses are to the number one rated team in Class 1A, and that would be Danville [who’s] down in their conference.”
The Nikes have had success offensively this season; scoring around 69 points per game so far in their 22 contests and they shoot just under 50 percent from the field. Tonight’s game will be aired live on 92.1 KRLS and streamed live at kniakrls.com with Cory Houser and Wynne Veenstra calling the back-and-forth. Pregame coverage starts at 6:30 p.m. with tip-off scheduled for 7:00.