A clash of long-time rivals will take Pella Christian and PCM into non-conference basketball action to start the week, as the Mustangs travel to Eagle lane for a varsity doubleheader.

Just 16 miles separates two of similar sized schools and a pair with a ton of history in Class 2A basketball — especially on the boys side, where for the past 27 seasons, future Iowa Hall of Fame Coach Larry Hessing and 2017-18 National Coach of the Year Fred Lorensen clashed in the regular season and the playoffs. But this year, the pair with 20 all-time combined state tournament appearances and more than 1200 career wins will not face off — instead, Lorensen will be dueling with new Eagles Head Coach J.D. Boer after Hessing’s retirement in March.

After an 0-3 start, Lorensen is still seeking his 600th career victory, which could be fitting against one of the programs he’s faced the most in 40 years of coaching. Pella Christian is hopeful to find a positive turnaround after a tough loss to Norwalk on Friday and an 0-2 start to the new season with plenty of new faces on the varsity roster. While the historical matchup is much closer, the Eagles have largely dominated the long-standing tradition in the Varsity Bound/Quik Stats era, with a 15-6 record against PCM since 2007.

In the girls matchup, the 2-1 Pella Christian girls are seeking win number three against winless PCM. In the Varsity Bound era, PCM is 8-7 against Pella Christian in the girls games, including a 55-31 Mustangs drubbing of P.C. last December, which came after a five-game winning streak for the Eagles in the rivalry.

Pella Christian and PCM will clash in a varsity doubleheader on Eagle Lane, with pregame starting at 5:45 on 92.1 KRLS Monday, with first tip of the girls at 6 p.m.