West Lincoln-Broadwell Wolverines are back-to-back 7th grade State Champs

 

[February 14, 2025]  The West Lincoln-Broadwell Wolverines boys basketball team repeated as state champions of the IESA 7th Grade Class 1A State Tournament on Thursday night at Normal Kingsley Junior High School.

The Wolverines found themselves trailing a bit in the first half to Champaign Holy Cross but they turned the game around in the second half and demolished the Crusaders 57-33.

Kruz Froebe led Lincoln with 18 points.

Colby Bowman and Griffen Cross each scored 14 points.

First quarter
The Wolverines had a 7-2 lead to start the game after Cross tossed in the first two buckets and Froebe banked in a three. But after the game reached a 9-9 tie, the Crusaders went ahead with another three. Bowman trimmed the lead with a bucket before the quarter ended but the Crusaders were still on top 12-11.

Second quarter
Brandon Ritter’s three to start the second quarter put the Crusaders up 15-11 and eventually Holy Cross went up 20-12. Timeout WLB. The Wolverines were in uncharted territory and they needed to change the course of this game quickly. Whatever WLB Coach Curtis Conrady told the boys in the timeout worked because the result was an 11-0 run. Cross, Froebe and Bowman led the charge and after two minutes the score was 21-20 Wolverines. Cross stretched that lead to 23-20. With a second left in the first half, the Crusaders tied the game with a three.

Third quarter
After a 25-25 tie early in the third, the Wolverines needed to do something to shake those Crusaders. WLB cranked up the heat on defense and the next thing you know, it’s turnover city for the Crusaders. WLB ran out to a 31-25 lead. But the Crusaders were more than ready to prove they deserved to be in the championship game and they staged a little comeback and the result was a 31-31 tie. Following a Crusaders turnover, Froebe broke the tie with a three at the two minute mark and from that shot on, WLB ran away with the game. Cross stole the ball and passed it off to Bowman, who scored the layup. After two more Holy Cross turnovers, Froebe hit back-to-back 3s to put his team up 42-31. The third quarter ended with that eleven-point lead for WLB.

Fourth quarter
Cross and Bowman each got points in the paint to start the fourth quarter scoring. After Evan Clements came into the game to score four points, WLB was enjoying a 50-31 lead. What a difference the basket at this end of the court was making for WLB. The Wolverines couldn’t miss. Bowman’s layup made the score 52-31 and the Holy Cross coach was desperate to call a timeout with 1:52 left in the game.

The back-to-back State Champion Wolverines! Photo by Amanda Bowman

Dating back to the middle of the second quarter, WLB was on a 40-11 run. Five seconds after the timeout, Froebe stole the ball and dished it off to Sales and after he made the layup the lead was 54-31. The starters exited the game seconds later.

The Crusaders made a basket right at the 1:01 mark and that was their first time seeing the ball drop through the net at their end since the 2:27 mark in the third quarter. That was just an amazing 23-0 run that WLB showed the fans, crossing two quarters. In the final thirty seconds of the game Roscoe Eimer and Kollin Kaesebier completed the WLB scoring at the free throw line and the state championship score, 57-33, was written in the books.

The Wolverines finished their incredible season with a 29-1 record.

Fans might be curious who WLB was beaten by that one time this season. Well, the Wolverines lost to Lincoln Magnet of Springfield. Incidentally, while WLB was winning the 7-1A state championship, Lincoln Magnet was winning the 7-4A state championship in East Peoria. Lincoln Magnet really had a battle on their hands, defeating Arlington Heights Thomas 50-46 in triple overtime. It was a battle of undefeated teams. Lincoln Magnet finished their season 30-0.

These Wolverines still have a year or more left in junior high, but it’s a sure bet this group will be a ton of fun to watch as Lincoln Railsplitters someday.

Congratulations on back-to-back state championships!

WLB 57
Froebe 18
Bowman 14
Cross 14
Clements 4
Sales 4
Eimer 2
Kaesebier 1

Holy Cross 33
Stonecipher 17
Young 8
Marino 5
Ritter 3

[Teena Lowery]