It was a night far more than about basketball as the Pella boys traveled to Carlisle without one of their own.

Pella lost to Carlisle 64-56 in a the Class 3A Substate Semifinals in a game heard live on 92.1 KRLS. The Little Dutch paid tribute to teammate Peyton Tighe, who died unexpectedly Thursday night, before the game with special shirts. Head Coach Derek Schulte tells KNIA/KRLS Sports he was inspired by how they responded to the tragic news.

“I’m very proud of our guys,” he says. “Number one, our thoughts all day were with Peyton’s family and our individual players in supporting them, and we left it up to them to decide if tonight was the night or to postpone, and they wanted to honor him with our play tonight.”

As for the game itself, the Little Dutch struggled to handle the dribble-drive capability of the Wildcats and fell behind 21-to-9 in the rebound category in the first half. Despite two key players – Nick De Jong and Landon Vander Leest falling in to foul trouble, the Little Dutch made a mad dash near the end of the 3rd quarter, overcoming a nine-point deficit and tying the game multiple times. They took a lead with 6 minutes left in regulation, but could not hold Carlisle from driving to the rim and making foul shots. Vander Leest led the Dutch with 15 points, with Logan Shetterly and DeJong tacking on 10 apiece.

Pella’s season ends at 11-12.