Junior High Boys Basketball
West Lincoln-Broadwell 7th graders are State Champions!

 

[February 09, 2024] 

The West Lincoln Broadwell Wolverines won the IESA 7th Grade Class 1A State Tournament at East Peoria Central Junior High School on Thursday night by defeating Ottawa Marquette 40-32 in a game that was exciting from start to finish.

First Quarter

With WLB winning the tip, it took sixth grader Kruz Froebe all of five seconds to drive the lane and draw a foul. Froebe sank 1-of-2 from the line and it was quickly a 1-0 ballgame. After Froebe stole the ball from Ottawa Marquette twenty-three seconds later, it was Colby Bowman knocking down the basket for a 3-0 WLB lead. At the 4:25 mark Tate Hopkins brought the Knights’ crowd to life with a three to tie the game. A mere fifteen seconds later it was Griffen Cross giving Lincoln a 5-3 lead with his basket. Following a missed shot by the Knights, WLB set up their offense and after a nice bounce pass inside from Froebe to Ryder Conrady, no. 40 tossed the ball in for two points and a 7-3 lead. After Maddox Whiteman scored his first basket of the game WLB was up 9-5 with the Knights threatening. Bradyn Hermann would sink back-to-back baskets for the Knights and tie the game 9-9 with 1:04 showing on the first quarter clock. Twenty seconds later Hermann scored again to put the Knights in front, 11-9. After a miss by Whiteman and a rebound by the Knights, it would be Colby Bowman with the quick hands committing a steal and scoring the tying basket with 13.0 seconds left in the quarter. Bowman repeated his performance on defense again, swiping the ball from the Knights and this time around he passed the ball to Froebe, who was able to score just in time and give his team a 13-11 lead at the buzzer.

Second Quarter

Froebe’s adrenaline was still rushing just after the second quarter started and he aimed high and shot long and the ball went in the hoop for a three. WLB was on top 16-11 and it was evident the Wolverines came to play. After Whiteman’s basket extended the lead to 18-11, the fans, who stretched from the top of the bleachers all the way to the bottom, were about to lose their minds. The Wolverines were on a 9-0 run that went all the way back to just under a minute remaining in the first quarter.

After a quick timeout, the Knights got down to business and fought their way back to 19-18 lead. Conrady sank a basket off the inbounds play at the 1:36 mark and put the lead back in the hands of the Wolverines. Each team failed to score for the next minute and a half, leaving fans on the edge of their seats. At one point, a three attempt by Froebe went inside the rim and just spun around and around until the ball finally spun itself out again. Heavy sighs could be heard from the crowd. Finally at the buzzer, Whiteman scored a two-point field goal and WLB had a little bit of breathing room with a 22-19 lead at the half.

It was a tough first half, with Knights playing tight man-to-man defense and easily out-matching the Wolverines in size. However, WLB out rebounded the Knights 6’3 big man, Jerard Cooper, and held him to just two points.

Third Quarter

The third quarter was intense, with WLB primarily keeping just a small lead of three to five points throughout the six minutes. A 25-19 score was reached after Whiteman’s free throw and a basket by Bowman and after that the game was much closer. Hopkins brought the Knights closer with his bucket, but then it was Conrady again, right place, right time, giving WLB the 27-22 lead at the 3:10 mark. At the other end, Hermann was clutch for the Knights and after his basket at the 2:30 mark the lead was trimmed to 27-24. A basket in the lane by Cross allowed WLB a 29-24 lead. Hermann was on fire from the field and he brought his team back to within three points, 29-26 the score. Those WLB boys were on a mission though and they weren’t about to be slowed down. Froebe penetrated the lane and drew enough attention to fire a perfect pass over to Conrady, open and ready to make the basket. This extended the lead to 31-26. One more basket by the Knights in the quarter made the score 31-28 and it was still anybody’s ballgame, with both teams really playing outstanding.

Fourth Quarter

Hermann’s basket fifteen seconds into the fourth quarter sent a message along with the 31-30 score: the Knights were not going down without a fight. In fact, the Knights took over the lead on a layup by Hermann at the 3:42 mark and the Wolverines had a job to do, now trailing 31-32.

An incredible sequence of events took place over the course of fifty seconds and after this whirlwind of action, WLB was on top with a lead that really took the Knights out of the game.

First, it was Bowman for the lead at the 3:15 mark. He had a nice move in the lane and gave WLB a 33-32 advantage. After Cooper missed a shot for the Knights, Froebe sank a three at the 2:44 mark and the crowd erupted at the sight of a 36-32 lead. The crowd barely had time to calm down before Froebe stole the ball, fired a pass to Whiteman, who in turn fired a pass to Bowman for the basket. Bowman’s ball went through the net at the 2:25 mark and the Knights coach called a timeout with the score now 38-32. All three of these timely baskets could be dubbed the “Plays of the Game” while the Wolverines terrific defense would deny the Knights from scoring the rest of the game. Meanwhile, the Knights were forced to foul and after sending Froebe and Whiteman each to the line, two more points were added to make the final score 40-32.

The Wolverines truly played an excellent game of team basketball, with Froebe and Bowman each scoring 10 points and Whiteman and Conrady near double-digits with 8 points apiece. Cross added 4 points at just the right time, too. Each and every guy on the court played hard-nosed defense for twenty four minutes and every rebound was earned by working hard.

The Wolverines finished their championship season with a 26-2 record.

Ottawa Marquette finished the season with a 23-3 record.

Maddox and Piper Whiteman, Kruz and Kloe Froebe and Colby and Jenna Bowman

After the 40-32 win, WLB coach Curtis Conrady was very happy with how his team played in the final game of the season.

“It was a total team effort tonight,” said Conrady. “When we needed a basket it wasn’t my normal scorers that made the basket. It was my defensive players in Bowman and Conrady. Bowman scored 10 points and Conrady scored 8 points and they were all timely baskets.”

After the game, the starters and the sixth man all noted how they had worked hard last summer in order to reach this state championship goal.

Coach Conrady concurred, “These kids had one goal in mind this summer and that was to win the state title and they backed it up!”

Once the bus arrived back in Lincoln, the players and cheerleaders were given a police and fire truck escort that took them in and around the Elks Club neighborhood for about 30 minutes. Horns honked, lights flashed and the 2024 State Champion Wolverines enjoyed every second of the late night celebration.

Congratulations, State Champs!

WLB ROSTER

Laine Paige
Kruz Froebe
Kollin Kaesebier
Barrett Grenlund
Brantley Conrady
Maddox Whiteman
Kamryn Kaesebier
Colby Bowman
Nolan Schaffenacker
Griffen Cross
Evan Clements
Keilin Sales
Dyson Dalpoas
Grant Hayes
Ryder Conrady

Scoring

WLB 40

Froebe 10
Bowman 10
Whiteman 8
Conrady 8
Cross 4

Ottawa Marquette 32

Hermann 14
Hopkins 12
Hellman 4
Cooper 2

[Teena Lowery]