Photo Courtesy of Lisa K. Morgan Photography

The Pella Christian boys basketball team overpowered Eddyville-Blakesburg-Fremont early in the Class 2A District 9 Final Tuesday night, running away with a 67-41 victory heard live on the KRLS2 stream at KNIAKRLS.com.

The Eagles took control of the game early in the first quarter, opening the game with an 18-4 run en route to grabbing a 23-9 lead at the end of the period. Pella Christian kept the pressure on in the second quarter, holding the Rockets to just four points, and held a 40-13 advantage at halftime. EBF narrowly outscored the Eagles in the second half 28-27, but Pella Christian picked up their second 26-point win over the Rockets on the season. Dane Geetings helped propel the Eagles offense in the win with 22 points, while Caleb Van Arendonk knocked down four three-pointers to record 16 points. Facing a familiar foe in EBF, Eagles head coach JD Boer said that they knew there were weaknesses they could take advantage of and credited his team for executing the gameplan.

“You know, Eddyville is a familiar opponent, so there’s some things that we knew we could take advantage of defensively and I thought the guys did a great job of that. We rebounded really well. Just kind of all the things that we talked about, they came out and really did an awesome job, so testament to our leadership, testament to this large group of seniors who’ve been there before and who know what it takes, and were ready for the challenge tonight. ”

Pella Christian advanced to the Class 2A Substate 5 Final on Saturday, where they will battle Iowa City Regina for a spot in the State Tournament. The Eagles Substate Final game this weekend at Liberty High School can be heard live on 92.1 KRLS, beginning with pregame coverage at 6:30 pm.