10 Best: Pella Christian (61) at Van Meter (53)
Van Meter — Levi Jungling was having his way in the second half for No. 3 Pella Christian, and his game-high 26 points helped the Eagles hand Van Meter its first loss of the season — the Bulldogs had been…
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Continue ReadingVan Meter — Levi Jungling was having his way in the second half for No. 3 Pella Christian, and his game-high 26 points helped the Eagles hand Van Meter its first loss of the season — the Bulldogs had been the last unbeaten in 2A.
The twin towers of No. 9 Van Meter — Grant Johnson and Ryan Schmitt — played very well on both sides of the ball in the first half, that coupled with a pair of Mitchell Pomeroy 3s saw the Bulldogs up five at the break. A JJ Durflinger 3 to start the third quarter extended the Van Meter lead to eight, that would be their largest lead of the game.
Immediately following the Durflinger triple, Pella Christian — fueled by Levi Jungling heroics — went on a 9-0 run, taking over the lead, and control of the game with it. The Eagles swarmed Johnson and Schmitt every time they touched the ball in the second half. And PC’s full-court pressure was troublesome at times for the Bulldogs.
Pella Christian had lost four games coming into this one, all to 3A competition. But they are certainly — once again — a threat to make a deep run into March.
Team Scoring
Pella Christian 11 8 21 21 — 61
Van Meter 10 14 12 17 — 53
Individual Scoring
Pella Christian: Levi Jungling 26, Jackson Flagel 13, David Kacmarynski 7, Scott Haveman 4, Kenden Veenstra 4, Graham Howerzyl 2, Kade Vander Molen 2.
Van Meter: Jack Trudo 11, Ryan Schmitt 10, Mitchell Pomeroy 9, Blake Fryar 8, Grant Johnson 6, Ian Abrahamson 3, Anthony Pothoff 3, JJ Durflinger 3.
MVP: Levi Jungling (Pella Christian)
An easy choice, and we’re not surprised. We’ve been watching Jungling slice-and-dice his competition for three years now, and just because he’s signed to play foot ball at Dordt, it doesn’t make him any less impressive on the hardwood. He nailed five triples, blocked a 3, came away with a slew of steals and almost mashed what would have been the sickest alley-oop of all time. Jungling is a Pella Christian legend.
Play of the Game: Almost Alley-Oop (Pella Christian)
This aforementioned alley-oop attempt was the best non alley-oop I’ve ever seen. What made it great — though it was not converted — was that the 5-foot-9 Jungling must have leaped 40 inches in the air to grab the perfectly placed ball from Alex Pringle — Pringle throwing from the right side of the hoop to center-hoop for his bouncy teammate. Jungling got a whole lot of net and maybe some rim, but the ball must have slipped out of his hands. It was with about a minute left to play and Pella Christian up eight, so it would have been a nice exclamation point on an impressive road win.
Best Offensive Performance: Levi Jungling
He scored from everywhere, most notably from deep, where he hit from five times. During the Eagles’ 9-0 run early in the third quarter it was Jungling to ignited it, scoring six points — an and-one and a 3-ball — within 15 seconds of game-time. Most impressive was that Jungling had a very slow start, and it looked as though he would have an off night: nope!
Best Defensive Performance: Grant Johnson (Van Meter)
This 6-foot-8 power forward was impressive tonight, especially on the defensive end. He plays perfect one-on-one post defense; arms straight up, strong base, making it nearly impossible to be scored on by much shorter posts. The junior post came away with several blocks today, and should have a big summer ahead of him on the 17U circuit.
Best Shooter: Levi Jungling
Well, he notched himself five more triples tonight, so we’re going to have to go with him. He was struggling a bit with his shot coming into this one, hitting just 31 percent of his attempts from deep. He certainly didn’t shoot like a guy in a slump tonight.
Best Intangibles: Ryan Schmitt (Van Meter)
Oh man could this kid be good. So he’s 6-foot-8, that’s tangible, but his smooth stroke from mid-range, soft touch and defensive awareness is not. He’s just a sophomore and obviously has intriguing size, but over the next two seasons his intangibles could make him one of the state’s best posts.
Best Underclassmen: Ryan Schmitt
-6-foot-8
-Nice jumper
-Very soft touch
-Length/blocks shots
Freshman Watch: Anthony Pothoff/Ian Abrahamson (Van Meter)
We always scan the rosters for freshman when we get into the gyms. Heck, if you’re a freshman playing varsity, regardless of what class you’re in, that’s quite the accomplishment. Bulldog freshman Anthony Pothoff was one of two frosh that got some run today, and in his limited minutes he impressed. He’s 6-foot-2 and knocked in his only look of the day from deep — looked good doing it too. He handles the ball well and was plenty poised for a freshman. We’ve got him on our radar. Ian Abrahamson was the other freshman who saw some minutes for the Bulldogs. The 5-foot-10 guard was aggressive and showcased a sweet stroke from the line. The future is bright in Van Meter.
X-Factor: Jackson Flagel (Pella Christian)
He was five inches shorter than either Johnson or Schmitt, but held up just fine despite of it. Conversely to the spindly Van Meter posts, Flagel is a meaty 6-foot-3, and was able to move through the competition en route 13 points off the bench. If Flagel wasn’t there to do the dirty work in the post, Pella Christian likely does not win this game.
Story to Watch: Possible Rematch
Both of these teams will be favored to come out of their districts and sub-state, which means there could be a possible rematch down at Wells Fargo Arena next month. We’re just spit-balling here, obviously they each have a long way to go to get there, and who knows how the seeding would work out if they did each make state. But this was a top-notch 2A game tonight, and we sure wouldn’t mind seeing these two go at it again.