Crusaders will face Cochrane-Fountain City at 11 a.m. Saturday

Andrew Krueger liked what he saw this afternoon, in addition to the Kohl Center scoreboard that read: Lutheran 80, Abundant Life 51.

“Just running around the court and seeing all the gold T-shirts in the stands from everyone there that was supporting us, that was pretty cool,” the senior said.

Krueger was in Madison when the Crusaders won the 2012 championship, but playing in the state semifinals was much better.  

“It was pretty cool being in stands for that, but it’s just a whole other feeling when you’re actually out there and you’re playing in the game,” he said.

Just wait until Saturday morning, when second-seeded Lutheran takes on top-seeded Cochrane Fountain-City in the title game at 11:05.

“It was hard even last night (to sleep), so I can’t imagine what tonight will be like,” Krueger said. “But we’ve had a busy week, so I’m sure I’ll be able to get some rest.”

Lutheran, ranked second in the final state poll, improves to 25-4 with hopes of claiming its fifth state championship and first since 2019.

The Crusaders shot 54.4% from the floor against third-seeded Abundant Life (23-7), which lost in the finals last year in its state debut.

Marion Boyland was 10 of 14 from the floor for 23 points to go with nine rebounds.

Zach Leonhard sank half his shots (7-14) for 18 points – he also had nine boards – and so did Oliver Leibham (6-12) for 16 points.

“I think we passed the ball really well,” Krueger said. “I mean, we had multiple guys in double digits, which always helps. And no one was selfish about anything. There were some times when they would make runs, but we always talked about it being a game of runs. And we were able to withstand theirs and go on some runs of our own.”

Lutheran’s lead was 20-19 when it scored 11 points in a row to pull away.

The Crusaders are now focusing on Cochrane-Fountain City, which was seeded higher than them in the tourney despite being ranked lower than them (8th).

The Pirates, who eliminated fourth-seeded Turtle Lake, 66-54, earlier in the day, are 27-2 and on a nine-game winning streak.

They reached their first championship game in school history, having lost in the 2014 semifinals in their only other trip to state.

Cameron Lipinski, a 6-foot-4 senior, averages a team-high 21.3 points to go with 5.6 rebounds.

Another senior, Porter Ehrat, leads the squad in rebounding (6.2) and is second in scoring (18.1).

LOWDOWN

Ticket info: Prices are $13.50 per session for all seating at the Kohl Center. Order tickets online by selecting the “Tickets” option at the top of the WIAA homepage or the Tickets page at:  https://www.expressoticketing.com/wiaa/pickevent.aspx?ECN=49.

TV Info:  The tournament will be televised live on WVTV in Milwaukee and WCWF (CW14) in Green Bay/Fox Valley, as well as live-streamed on Fox11online.com.

TEAM CAPSULES

Lutheran Crusaders

Record: 25-4

Streak: Won 7

Seed: No. 2

Rank: No. 2

State: 4th (1st since 2019)

Titles: 2 (‘19, ’12)

Cochrane-Fountain City Pirates

Record: 27-2

Streak: Won 9

Seed: No. 1

Rank: No. 8

State: 2nd (2014 – 0-1)

Titles: 0