Pella’s boys’ basketball team came out strong, but in the end, Grinnell had too much firepower from their starters in a 58 – 44 defeat of the Little Dutch. Pella came out firing and used good defense and a good inside game to get out to an early lead, but the Tigers drained six shots from the outside in the first half to set the tone for the game. Overall, said Coach Mark Core, his team’s defense in the opening 16 minutes was outstanding. The second half was a reversal of the first, in the sense that Grinnell made no shots from downtown and powered their way in the lane to keep their lead despite a few late scares from the Little Dutch down the stretch. Junior Jordan Pingel put the game on his shoulders in the second half, scoring 22 points overall. Pella finishes their season with a record of 14 – 9, and they lose five seniors off the varsity squad: James McMenamin, Kyle Van Wyk, Josh DeWaard, Matt Klein, and Casey McKinstrey.