It took overtime, but the Pella Christian boys basketball team finally knocked off one of the top teams in the Little Hawkeye Conference last night, beating Indianola 67-59.  Earlier in the night, the Indians girls cruised to a 53-30 victory.  Both games of the doubleheader were heard live on 94.3 KNIA and www.kniakrls.com.

Indianola’s Drew Kingery had a chance to win the boys game in regulation, but his contested three-point shot at the buzzer was off the mark. Then Levi Schelhaas took over in the extra frame for P.C.  After scoring 12 points in the first four quarters, he scored 12 points in the four minutes of overtime as the Eagles earned the victory.

Pella Christian has had several opportunities to get their signature win of the season, and coach J.D. Boer’s club finally nabbed one.

“So many of our games have looked like this, where we’re down by eight at halftime and we’re saying that we’re going to find a way to come back.  And we have, but then we’ve really struggled in the fourth quarter.  Tonight it was so great to see that growth and see us be able to finish a game.”

Kingery led all scorers with 30 points for Indianola, while Schelhaas scored 24 for Pella Christian and Eric Mulder added an 18 point 13 rebound double-double.

Pella Christian improves to 11-4 overall and 6-3 in the Little Hawkeye Conference while Indianola falls to 8-4 and 6-3.

In the opener last night, Indianola used an 18-0 run from the middle of the first quarter into the early part of the second quarter to take control. The Eagles defense caused fits for the underwhelming Indianola offense in the second half outscoring the Indians 5-4 in the third, but the Indians roared back with a 13-point fourth to earn the win. Head coach Jeff Janssen tells KNIA Sports he knows his team didn’t play up to their potential, but they are happy to pick up a road conference win.

“Our challenge as coaches is to now put our players in a position to be successful, and something we are going to be analyzing the next two nights. But regardless our mindset is so good, and our girls are so close. They are not satisfied with the victory, but they had such a great mindset and attitude after the game and as a coach I can’t ask for much more than that.”

Lauren Blake scored 20 of her game high 21 points in the first half and Emily Naughton added 14.  Pella Christian got 13 from Joslyn Terpstra and 11 from Jenna Van Maanen.

Indianola is now 12-3 on the season and 8-1 in the LHC, while the Eagles fall to 2-14 and 0-9.

Up next is more conference action on Friday night, with Indianola hosting Dallas Center-Grimes and Pella Christian traveling to Grinnell.