Ryan Willen, Notre Dame

Ryan Willen knows how to finish a season.

After scoring two goals to lift Notre Dame to victory in the championship game of the Class 2 state soccer tournament this past fall, Willen helped the Bulldogs add the elusive Class 4 state basketball championship on Saturday.

The Bulldogs, runners-up last year, beat St. Charles West 48-36 in the title game one day after pulling away from Lincoln Prep in the semifinal.

Willen, a 6-foot-8 senior headed to Lafayette College next year, had a team-high 19 points, including 16 in the first half, and added seven rebounds.

"Basketball has always been probably my favorite sport, and it was really, really big for us to come out and win it this year," Willen said. "I heard someone on the team say [Friday] that they would take this one title over the two in soccer just because it seemed like this was so much harder. Coming here last year, we had a really strong team last year. ... We just feel fortunate.

"It just seems like the harder you work at something, when it comes down to it, if you win, it means a lot more," Willen said. "It seems like I've put a lot more time into basketball than I have soccer. It's not supposed to be easy. When you work so much at something ˜ you get up in the morning and shoot free throws, and work every day ˜ it makes it special to win it all in the end."