ONE BAD HALF, AND THEN it’S ALL BLOOM
PONTIAC, Ill. — There isn’t any doubt about Bloom’s aspirations this week at the Pontiac Holiday Tournament. It’s championship or bust for the topranked Blazing Trojans. So far, the pressure isn’t getting to them.
“We’re dealing with it pretty well,” guard Dante Maddox Jr. said. “We just haven’t played our best basketball. That’s a good thing. It just shows how good of a team we really are. When things start clicking, it will be an even better performance overall.”
Bloom started to display title-winning form in the second half of its 83-64 win against Oak Park in the quarterfinals Friday.
“We just had a bad first half,” Maddox said. “We haven’t shot well here as a team. We knew we were a good shooting team. We just had to come out and keep the effort up, and we knew it would turn around eventually.”
Maddox scored 30 points on 9-for-14 shooting and grabbed six rebounds.
“It so happened that I found the groove and I was able to stay in that groove,” he said. “I’m just playing. I’m not interested in stats and numbers. I’m going to keep playing hard, and if my shot is not falling, I’ll try and rebound and get the ball to whoever is.”
Oak Park gave Bloom (11-1) all it could handle for 16 minutes. Then the Blazing Trojans, who led 32-28 at the half after trailing most of the second quarter, opened the third quarter with a 9-2 burst and never relinquished control.
“It went from four to 11 quick, and it was all off bad shots, long rebounds and easy fast-break points,” Huskies coach Matt Maloney said. “Against a team like Bloom, you have to value every possession, and we didn’t.”
Christian Shumate finished with 16 points and eight rebounds for Bloom. Donovan Newby added 10 points and 11 rebounds, and Keshawn Williams scored 13.
Two juniors, Josh Smith and Isaiah Barnes, run the show for Oak Park (7-4). Barnes, who scored 15 points and had six rebounds, is one of the state’s top prospects in the Class of 2021. Smith scored 16 points.
“There were times out there we didn’t have a senior on the floor, and we were hanging right with them,” Maloney said.
Though the Huskies are stacked with athletes, 6-8 senior Justin Cross may be their most important player. He does the dirty work, rebounds and defends the rim. He missed the second quarter and significant time in the second half because of foul trouble and finished with just four points and four rebounds.
“That hurt,” Maloney said. “Especially with Bloom’s size and length.”
Bloom next faces Benet (8-2) in the semifinals Saturday after the Redwings knocked off Warren 49-47 in Friday’s second quarterfinal. Big man Colin Crothers, who starred in the first round against Danville, did it again against Warren with 17 points and 10 rebounds. Jack Prock added 12 points.
“It’s a big adjustment going from [Oak Park’s style] to Benet,” Maddox said. “We just have to make sure we play our game and not settle for their tempo and let them control the game.” ✶