A clash of top five teams will highlight the 2nd round of the Class 3A substate playoffs at Pella High School this evening, as the #5 Dutch welcome #4 Bondurant-Farrar for the right to get to the sweet 16.

Pella (16-6 overall) is navigating a difficult bracket loaded with Raccoon River Conference teams, and the Bluejays (14-7 overall, 3rd in the Raccoon River Conference) navigated one of the most difficult schedules in 3A. Of their seven losses, four came before January 18th and came to #3 in 3A Spencer, Raccoon River Conference co-champions Ballard (#7) and Winterset (#6) in a pair of season splits, #10 North Polk — who is on the opposite side of the bracket with the Huskies, and to #9 in 4A Indianola last week by four points. The only team not playing that Bondurant has lost to is ADM, which came in the first few weeks of the season, and the Tigers fell to Nevada Monday.

Bondurant-Farrar has had a similar journey to Pella, as both teams remained highly competitive in the vast majority of their losses. The Bluejays are tested and ready for their own run, and Head Coach Derek Schulte knows the Dutch have to play close to their best game of the season to advance.

“We have a ton of respect for them, as they bring great length, they have scorers at multiple levels, and they’re going to defend hard — it’s going to be a great battle,” Schulte says.

The road team is paced by Juniors Colby Collison (18.5 PPG) and Jaxson Fried (13.4 PPG), and matchup very closely with the Dutch in most statistical categories and in terms of roster makeup.

Pella vs. Bondurant-Farrar Substate Semifinals basketball begins at 7 p.m. this evening, with coverage beginning at 6:30 on 92.1 KRLS and the Pella Dutch Live YouTube Channel.