Donovan Holterhaus gives Pella a 52-50 lead with a steal and score
Today we continue the countdown of the Top 10 sports stories of the 2016-2017 school year at Pella High School with number seven.
It came five months ago today, on February 27th. Trailing by four with just over two minutes remaining, the Pella High boys basketball team rallied Little Dutch to top Grinnell 55-53 to earn a return trip to the state tournament.
Down 48-44, Pella made a defensive switch, moving Donovan Holterhaus to the point of an extended 1-3-1 defense because Ryan Van Wyk had picked up his fourth foul.
The Little Dutch scored 6 of the next eight points to tie the game at 50, when Holterhaus came up with the play of the game, a steal and layup that gave Pella the lead.
Holterhaus and Nick Finney then trapped Grinnell’s Sam Allen, forcing an over-and-back violation to turn the ball back over to Pella with just under a minute left.
It took the Tigers nearly 30 seconds to commit the five fouls necessary to send the Little Dutch to the free throw line, and it was Kobe Diers who calmly knocked down a pair to give Pella a four-point lead.
“Well I knew that there was a chance that I’d be put in there at the end for Nick De Jong just based on shooting percentages. And so I did get put in and I got the ball because they were guarding Nick (Finney) so hard. I just tried to treat it just like any other free throws, like I was shooting in practice. I tried to zone out the fans and knock ‘em down.”
After Diers’ free throws, Allen buried a three for Grinnell to cut the Pella lead to one, then Nick Finney made one of two free throws for the Little Dutch. Allen’s right elbow leaner was short with the clock winding down, and neither team could coral the rebound as time expired.
At the state tournament the following week, Pella lost in the quarterfinals to eventual runner-up Sergeant Bluff-Luton. The Little Dutch finished the season at 22-3.