Downers Grove North guard/forward Jacob Vroman isn’t fazed by physical play.

The 6-foot-4, 205-pound junior was a tight end and edge rusher on Downers Grove North’s football team that reached the Class 7A semifinals.

So when the Trojans’ annual battle with crosstown rival Downers Grove South on Saturday turned into a version of WrestleMania, Vroman was ready.

“I was just taking open shots when I got the ball and I was just looking for boards,” Vroman said. “It was pretty tough.

“They weren’t calling so much when I was getting the boards. Sometimes I got thrown down.”

But Vroman always popped back up and kept his eyes on the prize. He sank four 3-pointers and finished with a team-high 17 points to help the host Trojans hold off a late Downers Grove South rally and win 48-41.

Junior forward Colin Doyle added 11 points and a game-high 14 rebounds for the Trojans (5-4), who never trailed after the 6-foot-6 Doyle scored the game’s first four points.

“That’s what Coach (Jim) Thomas has been preaching to us all year; just be tough,” Doyle said. “You’ve always got to be the tougher team every game.

“That’s the No. 1 thing we try to do and I think we did that tonight. It showed.”

The Trojans, who led by as much as 11 points and were up 37-27 heading into the fourth quarter, needed every bit of that grit as the Mustangs (7-3) gamely battled back in an effort to avoid the upset.

Downers South senior guard Adam Flowers did his best to will the Mustangs to victory. He scored 19 of his game-high 26 points in the second half and also had a team-high eight rebounds, four steals and three assists.

The Mustangs trailed 40-31 following a Vroman 3-pointer, but Dimitri Letsos answered with a 3-pointer and Flowers followed by scoring six straight points, including two free throws after drawing the fourth foul on Vroman. That cut North’s lead to 42-40 with 2:28 left.

“Adam was spectacular again,” Thomas said. “We tried to guard him in various ways and none of them worked.

“He’s so intelligent, so smooth, so capable, and I felt like they just didn’t make enough shots from the 3s when they had them and that could have been the difference-maker.”

Indeed, the Mustangs missed their first 20 attempts from beyond the arc and finished 1-for-25. But they still had three chances to tie the game.

All went for naught, with Vroman getting a defensive rebound and later splitting a pair of free throws with 1:08 remaining.

Sophomore guard Connor Crowley, another football player, and Doyle then went 1-for-2 from the line. Crowley, who had 11 points and three assists, then sank a pair with 20.2 ticks left to ice it.

“Coach Thomas also said to stay solid, no matter what, on defense and on offense,” Doyle said. “It would have been easy to let it get away from us there, but we just stayed solid and kept our composure and just made the right plays.”

Thomas was glad to see it.

“I was proud of the kids for battling through,” Thomas said. “No excuse, but we had three of our top six guys on the football team and I don’t think we’re playing our best basketball yet, by any stretch of the imagination.

“But tonight was a slugfest. It felt like we just kept hanging in there and making enough plays. I told the kids after the game, I think basketball might have been the secondary thing that we were doing out there to whatever else it was.”

Could this win be a catalyst for the Trojans?

“It’s a big win,” Vroman said. “We never played four good quarters of basketball, I feel like, and that was four good quarters. I hope we can build off this.”

They might if Vroman continues his gritty play.

“He’s a beast, man, him and Doyle,” Thomas said. “All our guys, really, have a knack to get to the ball, but shoot, (the Mustangs) did too.

“They’re quick off the ground as well, so when they went into zone at the start of the fourth and when they were rebounding pretty well, you could see the momentum start changing. So I’m glad we hung on.”

https://www.shawlocal.com/my-suburban-life/2025/12/21/jacob-vroman-helps-downers-grove-north-past-downers-grove-south/