The Pella boys basketball team has used the holiday break to re energize, and re focus on going after a Little Hawkeye Conference title. Coach Mark Core says the guys got a full week off over the break which was really needed since most players didn’t get any break at all between football and basketball. Core says he was very happy with how they performed during the first half of the season and he looks at the second half of the season as kind of a new beginning and they’ve concentrated heavily on just re mastering all the basics over the break. He says they basically recycled their practice plans from the beginning of the season working on passing, jumping, catching, jump stopping, pivoting, catching ready to shoot and alot of shooting drills. He says they’ve also worked on alot of defensive drills. Pella will play four tough games, all at home in their first 10 days back from the break starting with Knoxville Tuesday, then PCM Saturday and Norwalk the following Tuesday. Core says there’s a common theme amongst those teams they’ll have to be ready for. Core says each of those teams has fantastic post players so they’ll see quickly how good their post defense is. He says that’s an area they put alot of emphasis on in practice and hopefully that emphasis will pay off. Core also noted that although they will be four tough games in a short period, he knows the guys will enjoy it and be ready because they love to play the game and would rather play than practice. Pella is 5-1 on the season and 5-0 in the LHC tied with Norwalk for the top spot.

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