A showdown in Grimes could decide the Little Hawkeye Conference boys championship this winter as the Pella basketball teams travel to take on Dallas Center-Grimes this evening for a conference doubleheader.

No. 2 in 3A Pella locks up with No. 7 in 3A DCG — if the Dutch win, they will clinch the league championship for the first time since the 2016-17 season, when they edged the Eagles by one victory. The Mustangs are looking to split the series this winter after Pella won their January 8th matchup by a 61-58 margin. Pella has the slight edge in the all-time series 9-7, dating back to when DCG joined the conference in the 2011-12 season.

Pella Senior Guard Grant Nelson expects another excellent basketball game, and is hopeful they can knock off the Mustangs again to continue their undefeated conference streak.

“They’re great – Luke Rankin and Cole Glasgow are great ball players and probably one of the best backcourts in the state right now,” he says. “So I think it starts with defense and what we can do and how that leads to offense, and it’s an exciting match up — it’s always fun to play one of the top teams in the state.”

The Lady Dutch have a few opportunities left to make an impression to improve their regional playoff seeding with the brackets coming out next week, and they aim to play spoiler over the No. 3 in Class 4A Mustangs girls in the opener. DCG held off a late Pella charge in their first clash, a 44-35 win for the road team who is now playing host this evening.

Coverage of Pella at DCG basketball begins at 5:45 p.m. on 92.1 KRLS.