The No. 1 Pella basketball boys survived a stellar second half from Newton and the Lady Dutch played perhaps their most complete game of the season in their 65-59 and 71-33 respective victories Tuesday night.

The Cardinals established a slow tempo game against the normally lightning fast Dutch boys, and trailed by eight at half. A 3rd quarter flurry gave Newton a lead they extended to six by halfway through the final period.

In an unusually quiet night defensively, Pella began to pick the pockets of their opponents to rally back in the final four minutes and finish with the six-point victory.

Senior Jackson Scholten told KNIA/KRLS Sports after the game the team fed off of a rowdy crowd that his head coach Mark Core described as one of the loudest in recent memory.

“We definitely did a good job of raising that energy when we needed to,” Scholten says. “We were kind of saying in the huddle, it’s time to turn it up a notch and no more messing around, and I thought we did a good job of raising our intensity.”

The boys were led by 13 points from Grant Judkins.

The Lady Dutch outscored Newton 24-4 in the 1st quarter and never looked back in their blowout. Pella High was led by 24 points, 7 rebounds, and four steals from Kiara Bradley. Assistant Coach Wade Van Vark says it was a relatively “easy” night for coaching, as the girls showed just how good they can be.

“We were preparing for them a little bit, we had a game plan and knew some of the things we wanted to do, and the girls came out from minute one and got things done and executed very well,” he says.

The boys are 9-1 and remain undefeated in the conference, and the girls won their seventh straight to get to 9-2. Both stay at home for a doubleheader against Oskaloosa Friday night.