A spot in the Class 2A Boys State Basketball Tournament is on the line for Pella Christian tonight, as they travel to the Roundhouse at Marshalltown High School for the Substate Championship against Union Community.

Setting up the matchup between the top two seeds in the Substate 6 bracket, the Eagles defeated Albia 84-43 in the quarterfinals and Grand View Christian 65-59 in the semifinals. The Knights’ route to the Substate Final saw them defeat their opponents in a similar fashion to Pella Christian. Union opened their postseason journey with an 84-47 victory over Sumner-Fredericksburg in the quarterfinals, before knocking off Columbus Catholic 58-52 in the semifinals. Ahead of their biggest game of their season, Eagles head coach Joe Steinkamp says they are excited for the opportunity to keep their season alive for at least another week and a half.

“These seniors and this whole team, we just don’t want this run to end, so we want to keep this thing going and hopefully get a State Tournament appearance. But again we just gotta keep taking this thing one day at a time, one practice at a time, one game at a time and we think we can keep doing special things.”

Steinkamp adds that the Roundhouse at Marshalltown is a great venue for the go-to-State game, and that he hopes to see a packed house.

“I’ve been fortunate enough to watch a few Substate games actually at the Roundhouse over the years, and it’s just an unbelievable venue and it’s an unbelievable environment for this type of game. I think our guys will love it. I think our fans will love it. So Eagle Nation, hopefully you guys come in flocks to Marshalltown, and we’ll give you everything we got and give you a basketball team that you can be proud to cheer for.”

Coverage of the Substate Final between Pella Christian and Union Community can be found on 92.1 KRLS, beginning with pregame at 6:30 pm.