The Pella Christian boys basketball team ran the Highland Huskies off the floor to advance to their 14th-ever state tournament in a 72-33 victory as heard live on 92.1 KRLS.

Wire-to-wire dominance on offense and defense allowed the Eagles to fly away with the lopsided win that ended with continuous clock over the final five minutes of regulation. Senior David Kacmarynski had 19 points and 14 rebounds–12 of which came on the offense glass. Kacmarynski tells KNIA/KRLS Sports controlling the boards was a big key to the keeping the Huskies from gaining any momentum.

“I think our ability to get rebounds on both ends of the floor limited their chances on the offensive side, and offensively it gave us many more looks at the basket, and I think we converted pretty well.”

The Eagles outrebounded Highland 37-20. Levi Jungling tacked on 12 points, and Kenden Veenstra and Alex Pringle had seven apiece.

Pella Christian qualifies for their 3rd straight trip to Wells Fargo Arena, where they finished 3rd overall in each of the past two seasons. The field of eight has been set in Class 2A, and the tournament bracket will be determined on Wednesday at 1 p.m. during a special selection show.

Class 2A State Qualifiers:
Pella Christian – 14th time, 3rd in a row
Western Christian – 21st time, defending champions
South Hamilton – 7th trip
Cascade – 9th trip, 4th straight
Van Meter – 1st trip since 1936
Camanche – 3rd trip, first since 1985
Keumper Catholtic – 15th time
Garner-Hayfield-Ventura – 1st time qualifer