Photo by Paige Farrell

In pursuit of their third straight trip to Wells Fargo Arena for the State Tournament, the Pella Christian boys basketball is continuing to work on improving ahead of Saturday’s Substate Final.

After pulling out a 75-64 win over Albia in their postseason opener, the Eagles showcased their most recent improvements Tuesday night in a 67-41 blowout of Eddyville-Blakesburg-Fremont in the Class 2A District 9 Final. One player that highlighted the progress Pella Christian made between those games was senior Caleb Van Arendonk.

The senior guard, who leads the team in rebounds per game and is third in assists per game, turned in his best scoring performance of the season in Tuesday’s win. Van Arendonk had struggled from behind the arc this season, connecting on just 18% of his three-pointers, but knocked down four triples on Tuesday en route to 16 points in the Eagles’ victory. Pella Christian head coach JD Boer said that continuing to improve late in the season is vital to making a deep run, and added that Van Arendonk’s performance Tuesday highlights that mentality.

“You know, I think it’s an important element of a team when you get into February and March, you have to continue to improve. You’ve got to continue to find ways to get better. You can’t just say, hey, we are who we are and this is what it’s going to be. No, we want to find ways to continue to mix different things in and Caleb’s a guy whose practiced really well, certainly got better, and that showed here tonight. ”

Pella Christian will battle Iowa City Regina in the Class 2A Substate 5 Final at Liberty High School Saturday night, and the winner will advance to the State Tournament. Saturday’s game can be heard live on 92.1 KRLS, beginning with pregame coverage at 6:30 pm.