Top-ranked Laingsburg boys basketball on mission to keep perfection going in second season
LAINGSBURG — As the celebratory songs by Kool and the Gang and Queen played in the background, Zander Woodruff and teammates patiently waited their turns.
One-by-one they climbed a yellow ladder to cut pieces of the net and posed for pictures for family and friends as they celebrated the Division 3 top-ranked Laingsburg boys basketball team's outright CMAC championship Tuesday night.
It was the perfect way for the Wolfpack to commemorate their achievements after completing a perfect regular season with a 90-27 rout of Bath on their home court.
The win helped Laingsburg finish the regular season unbeaten for a second straight season. The Wolfpack (22-0) have won 45 consecutive regular-season games since the 2021-22 season and are 47-1 since the start of the 2022-23 season.
"It's a credit to all the guys and especially the seniors," Laingsburg coach Tim Beebe said. "They've never lost a league game and they've never lost a regular-season game (the last two years.) It's hard to top that to be honest with you, but we've got a second season to begin. While it's great to celebrate, it's fun to think about the next season."
Woodruff was one of nine seniors honored prior to Tuesday's contest and finished with a game-high 34 points. The returning Division 3 first team all-state selection has helped lead the charge for Laingsburg and is averaging more than 30 points a game to lead Greater Lansing in scoring.
Woodruff has also had plenty of help from the likes of Vance Klont, Jackson Audretsch, Ty Randall, Cameron Ballard and others. Together the group put together a dominant regular season in which 20 of Laingsburg's 22 victories came by double figures.
"We just put our mind to it in the summer," Woodruff said. "We just worked really hard and we just did what we do. We went out here and proved (our talent) last year and proved that this year."
The Wolfpack hope to prove even more after their state tournament run ended last year with a loss to Ecorse in the state quarterfinal. And that is what is driving Woodruff as he looks ahead to what's next for Laingsburg.
"We had a nice undefeated regular season, but we're ready to keep going and make a run in the playoffs," he said.
Beebe said the Wolfpack have some things to clean up over the next week before they open the state tournament at home against either Perry or Dansville. But even with that, Beebe believes Laingsburg has all the ingredients to create some more championship memories over the next month like the one they experienced Tuesday.
"I like the fact that we've got experience," Beebe said. "We've got senior leadership. We've got shooters. We've got physical players, we've got guys that run the floor well and defend. We've got a lot. We've just got to put it all together at the right time and just take it one game at a time."
Contact Brian Calloway at bcalloway@lsj.com. Follow him on X @brian_calloway.
This article originally appeared on Lansing State Journal: Laingsburg boys basketball eyes deep run after perfect regular season
