Broman, Lakeview Christian Academy repeat as Section 7A champions

Lakeview Christian Academy basketball player Anders Broman greeted fans after Friday night’s game at Romano Gym, never turning down their requests to have a photo taken with the high school hoops phenom.

The sports jackets showed they were from all over, from Eveleth-Gilbert and Chisholm down into Wisconsin.

Next stop for the Broman bandwagon: Minneapolis.

Broman scored 43 points as Lakeview Christian Academy earned a berth in the state tournament for the second straight year with an 83-58 victory over Cherry in the Section 7A final before about 2,000 fans.

Broman, Minnesota’s all-time prep scoring king — who, appropriately, plays for the Lions — would like to end his career with a state title. LCA (20-10), which went 0-1 at the state tournament last season, will open play Thursday at Williams Arena against an opponent to be determined after seeding is completed.

“The goal from Day 1 has been to make the state tournament,” Broman said. “We’re excited to be going back to state, but we’re not satisfied with just that. We want to bring back a title.”

Cherry (17-11), the North Subsection’s No. 6 seed, was considered a heavy underdog in this game after an improbable playoff run, and Lakeview Christian just had too much Broman, and even a little balance, for the Tigers to keep pace.

Anders’ younger brother, Bjorn, overcame early foul trouble to finish with 15 points for the Lions, while senior guard Josh Plys added 13 points, mixing in a couple of drives to go with his signature flat-footed 3-point shot.

“Everyone was shooting when they were open and doing the right thing at the right time, and that’s really what is key for our team,” Anders Broman said. “People think I’m the only scorer on this team, and that’s the only thing I want to do, but the truth is I don’t care how many points I score. As long as we win, that’s all that matters to me.”

Anders Broman was held to 17 points in Lakeview Christian’s 85-71 victory over Ely in the section semifinals on Wednesday, his second-lowest total this season, but had 10 rebounds, eight assists and six steals. He returned to being an offensive force on Friday, knocking down six 3-pointers while making 13 of 14 free throws.

Cherry assigned two guys to guard him, but the older Broman was harder to account for when the Lions were in transition or after offensive rebounds.

Cherry coach Bob Asuma made a good point in saying that the Tigers aren’t used to that style of defense — after all, they didn’t use it against anybody else all season — while LCA is used to everything an opponent can throw at them in an attempt to slow the Broman brothers.

The teams didn’t meet during the regular season this winter but have met in the past, so Asuma has seen Anders Broman’s improvement as a player. Broman now has 5,085 career points and is just 60 off his single-season record of 1,311.

“Give Anders credit for making himself into the player he is today,” Asuma said. “He worked hard to develop that stop and pop jump shot, and that has helped make him the complete player he is.”

Cherry trailed 40-28 at the break and cut the lead to seven, at 54-47, with 11 minutes to play before Broman converted a 3-point play, put back a rebound for another basket and drained a 3-pointer from the corner as the lead suddenly ballooned back to 15 points in just 90 seconds.

Senior forward Jordan Parenteau, one of four seniors for Cherry, had 21 points to lead the Tigers while sophomore center Ted Clement added 15.

“Lakeview can score in bunches when you lose track of them,” Asuma said. “We were definitely a big underdog, but we played like we had nothing to lose and I’m proud of our effort. Our seniors have been great leaders for us all season, and for this team to fight back like they did in the second half says a lot about them. They left it all out there.”

Lakeview coach Bob Newstrom agreed, saying that Cherry’s run, “out of nowhere,” made them a dangerous team to face in the section final.

“Each game gets more challenging than the one before it,” Newstrom said.

And each game becomes bigger. With www.ifan.tv webcasting Lakeview games this winter and national exposure for Broman in publications such as Sports Illustrated, Lakeview nation and the Broman bandwagon has become bigger and bigger, so it seems.

With Anders Broman taking pictures with fans just a few feet away, Newstrom was asked to describe the experience.

“It’s been wonderful,” he said.

Lakeview: 40-43—83

Cherry: 28-30—58

Lakeview Christian Academy — Anders Broman 43, Jonathan Hardesty 6, Bjorn Broman 15, Marc Chiu 4, Josh Plys 13, Josh Klun 2. Totals 28 18-23 83.

3-point goals — A. Broman 6, B. Broman 3.

Cherry — Matt Koski 4, Jordan Parenteau 21, Austin Kowarsh 9, Ted Clement 15, Nathaniel Blight 2, Brian Clement 7. Totals 21 11-14 58.

3-point goals — Parenteau 5.

Tags: sports, preps, basketball, updates