The PCM basketball teams opened Heart of Iowa Conference play Friday evening, traveling to take on Saydel, as heard live on KRLS3. The Mustang girls were able to overcome a slow start to pull away for a 53-18 win.

PCM and Saydel started out in a defensive slugfest for the first few minutes, but the transition game quickly became too much for the Eagles to handle. A 16-5 lead after one grew to 25-10 at half, and the Mustangs only held Saydel to eight points in the second half.

Regan Freland led the way offensively for PCM with 21 points, and in the process became the school’s all-time leading scorer. Emma George chipped in with 12 points to help the cause. The Mustangs improve to 2-1 overall and 1-0 in the conference.

The boys game featured an entertaining first half which saw the Mustangs lead by six at the break, but PCM would pull away for a 51-34 victory. PCM had a strong second half, and head coach Fred Lorensen said that defense was key to putting the Eagles away.

“The key for us tonight was our defense. We played well I thought, the second half they had a hard time making baskets. They got hurt on the boards a little bit; they had a couple good offensive rebounders in there that hurt us some, but outside of that they had a hard time making baskets. We made enough to pull away a little bit, did a good job at the free throw line, hit some big ones down the stretch there. That’s big stuff and we just have to keep getting better and keep moving on here”

The Mustangs were led offensively by Derek Brown, scoring 18 points. PCM improves to 2-0 overall and 1-0 in the Heart of Iowa Conference. Up next for the Mustangs is the home opener on Monday, as Pella Christian comes to town. That girl-boy doubleheader will air live on 92.1 KRLS.