CHAMPAIGN-URBANA – Zach Winkeler led Belleville Althoff Catholic with 14 points, with Dierre Hill, Jr. scoring 12 points before fouling out, as Chicago Dyett used a 13-0 run in the second and third quarters, along with a 21-9 fourth quarter, to defeat the Crusaders 52-41 to win the IHSA Class 2A state boys basketball championship game. The game was held Saturday afternoon, March 15, 2025, at the State Farm Center, on the campus of the University of Illinois in Champaign-Urbana.
The Crusaders took a 15-6 lead after the first quarter, and led 25-17 with two minutes left in the first half. The Eagles, led by back-to-back threes from Jaden McKinnon, scored the last eight points of the first half to forge a 25-25 halftime tie, then scored the first five points of the second half to go ahead 30-25.
Hill scored eight of the Crusaders’ first eight points as Althoff took a 15-8 lead at the end of the period, and in the second period, led by the 25-17 margin. McKinnon took over, scoring his consecutive threes, then hitting on a lay-in before the end of the quarter to give the Eagles a 25-25 tie at halftime. Dyett then scored the first five points of the second half on a three by Mika Harris, and a basket by Aramis Brown, Jr. to take their 30-25 lead.
Bryden Gryzmala ended the drought with a basket with 2:08 left in the third to make the score 30-27, and after a free throw by the Eagles, got a three from WInkeler and a basket at the buzzer by Kyle Johnson to take the lead back at 32-31 after three quarters. Dyett got a three from McKinnon at the start of the fourth quarter to take a 34-32 lead, and started to pull away when the Eagles took a 38-34 advantage. with McKinnon leading the way, as the Eagles went on to their 52-41 lead to take the championship.
McKinnon led the way for Dyett with 17 points, while Rickey Coleman added 10 points, both Brown and Christian Love had five points each, Devon Shelton and Jacob Johnson had four points apiece, Harris had three points, and both Matthew Wilson and Jahmir Brown hit for two points each.
Winkeler led Althoff with his 14 points, while Hill added 12 points, Gryzmala had 10 points, both Luke Smith and Johnson had two points each, and Patton Leib had a single point.
The Eagles won the Class 2A title with a final mark of 27-7, while the Crusaders ended a spectacular season with a record of 32-6.
