If the Pella boys basketball team is going to win its first state tournament game since 2016, they will have to do so against a team that hasn’t lost a game since March of 2020.

Pella Head Coach Derek Schulte says the No. 7 seeded Panthers are an experienced squad that competed in the Class 2A quarterfinals one year ago, and have since run the table after making the jump to Class 3A.

Monticello is the 2nd ranked team in the AP Poll and 10th on power rankings site BcMoore. The Panthers knocked off Vinton-Shellsburg, Central DeWitt, and Solon to advance to the final eight.

All five starters from the 2020 state tournament team are back on the 2021 roster for Monticello, including Senior Justin Recker, who averages 14.6 points and 7.1 rebounds per game, as well as fellow seniors Luke Lambert, Connor Lambert, and Ty Kehoe. Sophomore Tate Peterson is the team’s top three point shooter, converting 44.6% of his shots and making 54 this winter.

Coverage of Pella vs. Monticello will begin at approximately 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday from Wells Fargo Arena on 92.1 KRLS.