Photo courtesy of Troy L. Hugen Photography

Every member of the Pella Christian boys basketball team scored in a dominant 78-33 victory over Eddyville-Blakesburg-Fremont Tuesday night, while the girls squad dropped a heartbreaker to the Class 2A #1 Rockets 40-37, and both games were heard live on 92.1 KRLS.

After a shaky start offensively, the Eagle boys found their groove midway through the first quarter and jumped out to an 18-8 lead. After the opening period, Pella Christian’s defense began to fuel the offense, as they outscored the Rockets 60-25 the rest of the way to open the season at 1-0. Landon Fransman led the Eagles in scoring on the night with 13 points, while Deacon Branderhorst added 10 points in the win. The Pella Christian bench contributed half of the team’s 78 points on the night, led by Devan Runner’s 11. Ben Van Wyngarden and Wyatt Snyder each had eight points off the bench, Caleb Volk had four points, and Trey Steinkamp, Josiah Vink, Ethan Van Arendonk, and Rob Schreur each had two points. 

In the opening game of the doubleheader, the Eagle girls used a great defensive effort early to build up a 16-7 lead over the top-ranked Rockets after the first quarter. Offense was tough to come by for both teams in the second quarter, but EBF outscored Pella Christian 10-5 to cut the deficit to 21-17 at halftime. The Eagles regained their footing in the third quarter, using a 16-12 period to stretch the advantage back up to 37-29. Despite the eight point lead, Pella Christian struggled offensively in the final eight minutes, as they were outscored 11-0 and saw their bid to take down the top-ranked Rockets fall just short. Addie Van Arendonk was the lone Eagle to reach double-figures in the loss, scoring 10 points on the night. Rachel Kacmarynski added eight points and Chloe Snyder had seven points as Pella Christian fell to 2-1 overall.

The Eagle girls have a quick turnaround, hosting Class 3A #11 PCM Thursday night in a 7:30 pm game that can be heard live on 92.1 KRLS. The Pella Christian boys are off until Friday night, when they play at Oskaloosa in the back half of a Little Hawkeye Conference doubleheader.