Senior Night festivities were celebrated Tuesday evening on Eagle Lane, as Pella Christian played host to Newton in the final home basketball games of the 2019-2020 season. The Eagles earned a split with the Cardinals, as the girls fell 58-51, and the boys came from behind in a 56-47 triumph, as heard live on 92.1 KRLS.
It was a strong first quarter for the Pella Christian girls, as the offense was clicking, and the defense held strong for a 15-4 advantage after one. A relatively even second quarter gave the Eagles a 24-15 lead at the halftime break, but the offenses turned up the pace in the third quarter.
Newton stormed back to get to within 38-36 heading into the fourth, and the Eagles could not contain the Cardinals in the final eight minutes. After a 15-point first half, Newton poured in 43 points in the second half to secure the victory. Head Coach Brad Engbers says that his team’s second half execution was not up to par.
A strong offensive performance by Chloe Morgan topped the scoring leaderboard for the Eagles, as she had 16 points. Allison Van Gorp fought through foul trouble and tacked on 10 points and eight rebounds. Pella Christian drops to 2-18 overall and 1-12 in the Little Hawkeye Conference.
The Eagles boys came in trying to snap a four-game skid, and found themselves trailing early. Despite falling behind by as many as eight points early on, Pella Christian worked their way to a 28-26 halftime advantage.
Newton gave the Eagles all they could handle throughout the second half, but PC’s lead expanded to as many as 11 in the second half on their way to the nine-point win. Head Coach Larry Hessing says that the mindset during the losing streak was to keep persevering through the tough times, and they were able to stick to their gameplan and get back in the win column.
Josh Van Gorp’s 21 points led the way for the Eagles, while Dan Jungling tacked on 15 points, including four three-pointers. Pella Christian is back above .500 at 10-9 overall and 5-8 in the conference. Up next the Eagles will travel to Oskaloosa Thursday for the regular season finale.