No growth, no glory.

If that's not the theme for the First Baptist Christian School varsity basketball program, it should be.

The Butler-based school was an elementary school for 25 years before adding a seventh-grade class in 2001-02. An eighth-grade class was added the following year.

Freshman and sophomore classes followed in 2003-04, a junior class joined the school in 2004-05 and First Baptist had its first official graduating class of six in 2006.

The school's basketball program, in its seventh year, has experienced similar growth.

"We finished ninth out of nine teams in our league during my first year,"said third-year Eagles boys basketball coach Bill Broman. "We won maybe five games.

"But our point guard was an eighth grader then, we were playing against teams with juniors and seniors. ... We took some pretty good beatings."

Last year, First Baptist won 15 games and was runner-up in the Tri-County Christian League, an 11-team private-school circuit with a mission statement "to foster spiritual and character growth in students through sport."

This year, the team is 9-1 and has been invited to play in the Bob Jones University's 2008 Christian High School Invitational Tournament Jan. 22 to 25 in Greenville, S.C.

The Eagles will be pitted against teams from South Carolina, Florida, West Virginia, North Carolina, New Jersey, Alabama and Illinois in the eight-team event.

"We're pretty excited about this,"Broman said. "We won a tip-off tournament in Clymer (Pa.) to begin this season. That's the farthest we've ever traveled.

"Our school only has 110 students. We'll be up against programs from schools with 300 to 500 students. We're anxious to see where we stand."

First Baptist has three seniors, four juniors, three sophomores and two eighth graders on its varsity roster. Dustin Hilgar, a sophomore, is the team's tallest player at 6-feet-5.

The Eagles also have a 6-4 strong forward in Jonathan Boyd, a 6-3 center in Thaddeus Barnhart and a 6-3 shooting guard in Josiah Kenyon.

"I played for Knoch in 1991 and we only had one kid taller than 6 feet,"Broman recalled.

Junior point guard John Sinclair has been a starter at First Baptist since eighth grade.

"Our scoring is so balanced,"Broman said. "We have three kids average in double figures virtually every game and it varies who those kids are."

A member of First Baptist Christian Church, Broman filled a coaching vacancy there.

"I felt a need to help those boys out,"he said.

School principal Ken Kistler said First Baptist began a basketball program to give its students the opportunity to compete in athletics.

"You can teach children a lot through athletics,"he said. "We had to teach them how to handle losing games with a good spirit, about doing your best regardless of the score.

"Now that we're doing well, they've learned to stay humble in spirit while winning."

First Baptist's girls basketball program has mirrored the boys' success. The team was winless during its first season, but won the Tri-County Christian League last year.

"Those first seasons ... the girls would score a basket and celebrate like they won the Super Bowl,"Kistler said.

This year's team is 8-1 under second-year coach Dan Gwilt. Two players, seniors Jennifer Boyd at forward and guard Mary Jean Kenyon, average nearly 15 points per game.

Point guard McKenzi Houuck, guard Cassie Houck and forward Kristina Sinclair round out the starting five.

"Two years ago, we were getting beaten by 40 points,"Gwilt said. "Those same freshmen and sophomores have matured as juniors and seniors. They've learned the game."