Photo by Megan Copeland

It’s a long road north for the Pella boys basketball team as their tournament trail takes them to the top eight of Class 3A this evening. The Dutch are taking on the #8 Waverly-Shell Rock Go-Hawks in the Class 3A Substate 7 semifinals.

Both teams made short work of their first round foes, as Pella defeated Knoxville 88-35 and the Go-Hawks toppled South Tama 64-34 Monday night, and a clash of unfamiliar opponents will highlight the round of 32 in 3A.

Waverly-Shell Rock is 16-5 and tied with Charles City at the top of the Northeast Iowa Conference standings, and features four underclassmen averaging 10 or more points per game that make up the 6th best scoring team in Class 3A, including juniors Cole Marsh (14.7 PPG) and Noah Frazell (14.2 PPG).

While the Dutch have not had the consistent offensive explosiveness the program has been known for this winter, they have been able to find some late-season signature wins, including over then-#9 Mt. Pleasant just over a week ago, and only have losses to Class 4A schools, Class 3A ranked Newton and North Polk, and a season split with 2A substate qualifier Pella Christian.

Coverage of Pella at Waverly-Shell Rock Substate Semifinals basketball begins at 6:30 this evening on 92.1 KRLS.