Photo courtesy of Troy L. Hugen Photography
Behind a career-night from senior Deacon Branderhorst, the Pella Christian boys basketball team dominated Davis County in the Class 2A District 10 semifinals for a 72-31 victory heard live on 92.1 KRLS.
Despite grabbing the advantage early in the game, the Eagles led just 15-11 at the end of the first quarter, but it was all P.C. the rest of the way. Pella Christian outscored the Mustangs 20-5 in the second quarter to take a 35-16 lead into the locker room, before winning the second half 37-15 to secure the 41-point win. Branderhorst rained in eight three-pointers in the contest to finish with a career-high 31 points to lead the Eagles offensively. Deacon’s performance marked the first 30-point game for a Pella Christian boys basketball player since March 9th, 2017, when Levi Jungling scored 31 points against Kuemper Catholic in the State Tournament Semifinals. Cooper Spronk contributed eight points in the win, while Ben Van Wyngarden and Deven Runner added seven and six points respectively. Defensively, Pella Christian limited Davis County’s top three scorers entering the game to just 14 combined points, well below their combined season average of 38.3 points a contest. Eagles head coach Marv Van Wyk said it was exciting to see his squad play well in all facets of the game.
“That was fun to watch from where I was standing, and I was glad to have a front row seat for that, because that was a phenomenal game for our kids. They played really well on both ends of the floor, shot the ball really well, moved the ball really well to get those open looks. And on the defensive end, we were just really active, really did a great job of shutting down their passing lanes and driving lanes, and did a great job out of the middle of the floor for the most part, and made life tough for them on the offensive end as well. So, it was a really good all around effort.”
Pella Christian improved to 10-13 overall with the win and will now take on Grand View Christian in the District Championship game on Tuesday at Knoxville High School.