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The Pella boys erased any thoughts Centerville may have had of pulling an upset last night as they jumped out to a 9-0 lead in the first 90 seconds of the game on their way to a 24-8 lead after one quarter and outscored the Big Red 59-43 the rest of the way to win 83-51 in the opening round of the Class 3A Boys District Tournament last night.

The two teams met just six days ago in Centerville with Pella winning 65-42 but Pella struggled in the early minutes of that game. Pella Coach Mark Core said last night the guys came out focused and ready to play from the opening tip and were able to play their type of game and gain control early.

Nathan Buchheit was on fire as he scored 10 points in the first quarter on his way to 22 to lead all scorers in the game, Deckar Lynch aded 10 off the bench. All 12 players that were in uniform played and scored in the game for Pella as they improved to 18-3 on the season. Pella now will face Knoxville for the third time this season in the District Final at Oskaloosa tomorrow night after the Panthers knocked off Chariton last night.