A road trip to Grinnell provided two very different games and results for the Pella Christian basketball teams, as the boys won 61-54, while the girls were blown out 59-21, as heard live on 92.1 KRLS.

The Eagles boys led wire-to-wire in their varsity contest — an 8-0 run in the first 1:42 turned into a 17 point lead by halfway through the 2nd quarter. But the offense stalled out from that point to the middle of the 3rd quarter, only scoring one basket from the field in that stretch, which allowed the Tigers to pull within one possession for the first of four occasions in the 2nd half.

Head Coach J.D. Boer says there was a lot to be learned from how the Eagles ebbed and flowed through the highs and lows of a close conference battle, but he was ultimately happy with the first Little Hawkeye win of his career.

Pella Christian was paced by a 16 point, 7 rebound night from Niko Schirz, who tallied four offensive boards and 13 critical points in the 2nd half before fouling out. Eric Mulder dropped 15 points and 9 boards.

In the girls’ opener, the Eagles offense had difficulty handling No. 9 in Class 4A Grinnell’s pressure, turning the ball over nine times in the first four minutes and never finding their footing, despite scoring the first basket of the game quickly after the opening tip. Allison Van Gorp finished with 10 points and five rebounds.

The Pella Christian boys improve to 2-3 overall and 1-2 in the Little Hawkeye Conference, while the girls are now 3-3 and 0-3 against league opponents. Pella Christian will have a split doubleheader at home Tuesday to end the 2020 calendar year — Eddyville-Blakesburg-Fremont’s girls and Ottumwa’s boys will be on Eagle Lane, in games that can be heard on 92.1 KRLS.