The Pella Christian boys basketball team did just enough to pick up a scrappy 62-57 victory over PCM Monday night in the Highway 163 rivalry heard live on 92.1 KRLS.

The game was tight throughout the night, but the Eagles maintained the advantage at the end of every quarter. Pella Christian bolted out to an early lead and finished the first quarter up 18-14 on the scoreboard. The Mustangs shrunk the deficit to 31-28 at halftime, and despite multiple lead changes in the third quarter, Wyatt Snyder’s step-back three-pointer before the buzzer gave the Eagles a narrow 47-46 lead heading into the final eight minutes of play. In the fourth quarter, Pella Christian pulled away late to lead by eight, before a PCM three-pointer before the final horn cut the Eagles margin of victory to five.

Both teams struggled offensively throughout the night. Pella Christian shot just 15.4% from three-point range and 28.6% at the free throw line, but overcame it by connecting on 50.9% of their shots from the field. The Mustangs connected on just 31.8% of their shots from the field, 24.1% from three-point land, and 53.3% from the free throw line. Gilbert Flagel posted a game-high 14 points for the Eagles, while Landon Fransman contributed 11 and Snyder added 10. Cutler VandeLune and Kaleb DeVries were PCM’s top scorers on the night with 11 points each, while Kash Fischer added nine points off the bench.

The Pella Christian boys improve to 3-0 overall on the season, and will look to stay unbeaten against Norwalk in the back half of a home conference doubleheader on Friday. The Mustang boys fell to 1-2 overall on the winter, and they return to the court tonight in the back half of a Heart of Iowa Conference doubleheader at Perry, which begins with the girls game at 6 pm.