Photo Courtesy of Troy L. Hugen Photography
A strong third quarter sparked the Pella Christian boys basketball team past rival Des Moines Christian in a 53-46 win Monday night, while the Eagles girls squad struggled offensively in their 48-29 loss to the Class 3A #6 ranked Lions. Both games were broadcast live on 92.1 KRLS and on the Pella Christian YouTube channel.
The Eagles boys team stumbled out of the gate, falling behind 13-10 to Des Moines Christian after the first quarter. Pella Christian battled back to tie the game at 24-24 with 45 seconds remaining in the first half, and that score held into the intermission. The Eagles found their rhythm out of the break, outscoring the Lions 16-9 in the third period to take a 40-33 lead into the fourth quarter. Pella Christian kept the pressure on in the final quarter, using a 5-0 run to push the advantage to 45-33 at the 5:28 mark of the period. The Lions clawed back to pull the score within four points with just over two minutes remaining, but the Eagles held off the comeback to improve to 10-4 overall. Dane Geetings led a balanced Pella Christian offensive attack, that saw 10 players score in the contest, with 15 points and Josiah Vos added nine. Playing in the rivalry game for the first time, Vos said it was a great feeling to get the win.
“It’s always been a fun game and especially watching like before I played this year, watching Des Moines Christian versus P.C., it’s always a fun one to watch. But to be able to play and get a big win, it’s really fun, and in the locker room, it definitely showed it.”
After falling behind 7-0 in the opening three and a half minutes, the Pella Christian girls battled back to pull the score to 11-6 after the first quarter against a ranked Des Moines Christian squad. The Lions defense limited the Eagles to just 21% shooting in the second quarter to extend their lead to 25-14 at halftime. Des Moines Christian limited Pella Christian to just seven shots in the third quarter to push the advantage to 33-22 going into the final period, before pulling away for the 19-point win. The Eagles connected on just 22% of the shots in the game, as they fell to 2-14 overall. Joslyn Terpstra was the lone player for Pella Christian to post more than four points in the game, scoring 17 on the night.
Both the Pella Christian basketball teams have a quick turnaround, traveling to Norwalk tonight for Little Hawkeye Conference doubleheader that can be heard live on 92.1 KRLS. Pregame coverage begins at 6 p.m., followed by tip-off of the girls game at 6:15 p.m. In their first meeting this season back on December 9th, the Warriors swept Pella Christian. The Norwalk girls won 60-24, while the Warrior boys won 54-40.