In what very well may be a battle of state tournament bound teams, the Eagles boys’ basketball squad earned a big 59-56 victory against arch-rival Des Moines Christian in Urbandale Saturday night.

Pella Christian’s defense contained the dangerous Lions’ scoring combination of Ben Juhl and Keaton Van Soelen to 25 points. Head Coach Larry Hessing told KNIA/KRLS Sports this needed win against a top Class 2A team could be a springboard for the rest of the season, especially after a frustrating week of close conference losses.

“I’m just so proud of the guys, because we haven’t been playing bad basketball at all,” Hessing says. “I’m just really proud they were able to come in here with focused with positive thoughts and come out here and give a good account of themselves.”

Caleb Roose’s red-hot 3rd quarter came at a pivotal time for the Eagles, as the junior buried three of his total four three-pointers to give PC an eight point advantage. Junior post Jeremy Van Beek continued his astounding development in 2016, dropping 11 points and snagging 10 rebounds.

The girls had a pair of 9-0 runs in the second half as they rallied furiously, but Pella Christian could not best No. 10 Des Moines Christian in their home gym, falling 51-43. Coach Kevin Van Maanen says it’s been a frustrating stretch for his girls as they try to find consistency.

Guard Cailey Terpstra scored 12 points, and tallied two assists and a pair of steals. Freshman Isabella Baugh returned to the floor following injury and played for the first time in 2016, adding eight points and 12 rebounds.

The boys are 7-4 and the girls fall to 5-8, and both teams travel to Ballard on Tuesday, a doubleheader that can be heard live on 92.1 KRLS.