A top five showdown in the Class 3A substate semifinals went the way of the defending champs, as the #5 Pella boys basketball team knocked out #4 Bondurant-Farrar in postseason basketball action Thursday 68-54, as heard live on 92.1 KRLS.

The Dutch flew out of the starting gates with a 14-5 run in the first four minutes, only for the Bluejays to match that mark with a 9-0 run and eventually take several small leads before halftime. Bondurant scored the first three points of the 3rd quarter, but the resilient Dutch rallied for 12 consecutive points. The road team closed the gap to two possessions with back-to-back three-point play opportunities early in the final period. From there Pella steadily increased their advantage until the final horn.

Senior Preston Rowe says there was no panic from their group on the floor, as the senior-heavy and tournament-savvy Dutch were prepared for the runs the talented Bluejays would make, and he was proud of how they responded to adversity.

“Bondurant is a really good team and they thrive on runs and energy, and they had a couple of runs where they got that energy and momentum,” he says. “All of our guys pulled together and we played well and responded to those runs.”

FULL INTERVIEW WITH PRESTON:

Rowe finished with 10 points, as Pella was led by 25 from Noah Allen and 16 from Karl Miller. Pella improves to 17-6 overall, and has advanced to the Class 3A Round of 16 for the fourth consecutive season. The Dutch will seek their third consecutive state tournament bid Monday against #6 Winterset at Indianola High School.