TROJAN HORSE
Erkins-Ford steps into spotlight as Bloom gets the best of Illinois recruit Rodgers and Thornton
Bloom’s Emondrek ErkinsFord could not wait to take on the challenge of going up against Illinois recruit Ty Rodgers and Thornton.
“It was real intense,” ErkinsFord said. “I like the competitiveness. I like competing against one of the top players in the country. We were going back and forth. It was a good win for us to pull it out.
“I liked this game very much. I feel like it brought out the best in me. All in all, it was great. I loved it. I can’t stop smiling. I’m still excited from it. I lost my voice and all.”
Erkins-Ford, a 6-foot-8 senior forward without a scholarship offer, proved he could more than hold his own Friday night, scoring 14 points to lead the visiting Blazing Trojans to a 49-48 Southland Athletic Conference victory over Thornton.
Sophomore Gianni Cobb finished with 11 points and eight rebounds off the bench for Bloom (5-2, 2-0), while his older brother, Kamarion, added eight points.
Montreal McCullough led Thornton (4-2, 1-1) with 13 points and five rebounds. Kelsey Tarver scored 11 points. Rodgers finished with 10 points and 13 rebounds.
Erkins-Ford’s free throw with 17 seconds left broke a 48-48 tie.
On the Wildcats’ final chance in the closing seconds, Rodgers drove and dished off to Tarver, who missed a dunk.
“We had an opportunity to win, but it doesn’t come down to that play,” Thornton coach Tai Streets said. “Obviously, he’ll make that 99 times out of 100, but let’s not get in that position. We got down too much early.”
Erkins-Ford was a big reason why. He scored inside, hit a 3-pointer and limited Rodgers’ inside looks with his defensive presence.
“He’s probably one of the best unsigned seniors as far as shot blocking and being able to be a stretch four kind of guy,” Bloom coach Dante Maddox said of Erkins-Ford. “He continuously blocks shots and alters shots, and when he plays with a motor like this, it really helps our team.”
Erkins-Ford felt he backed up Maddox’s statement about him being a top unsigned senior.
“I do feel like I proved it,” Erkins-Ford said. “Going against Ty Rodgers, I felt like that brought out the best in me and I hope I get some scouts looking at me. I’ve got a lot of interest, but no offers yet.
“That’s what I’m fighting for. That’s my chip on my shoulder.”
Bloom had huge surges at the end of both the second and third quarters, closing the first half with an 11-2 spurt and the third on a 13-0 run.
Gianni Cobb capped the outburst in the third with backto-back 3-pointers, including one at the buzzer that gave the Blazing Trojans a 41-30 lead.
“I had a lot of confidence,” Gianni Cobb said. “My dad (Marlon) told me, ‘Just pay attention, be ready to shoot and you’re going to knock them down.’ ”
Rodgers seemed content to be a distributor for much of the game and had just four points midway through the fourth quarter.
However, he sparked a 9-0 run that pulled Thornton within 44-43, scoring four points and throwing down a thunderous dunk to ignite the crowd.
“Sometimes we need him to be more selfish,” Streets said of Rodgers. “He’s so unselfish by nature, but sometimes we need to say, ‘Just take over this game.’ ”
McCullough’s 3-pointer with 1:25 left forced the 48-48 tie before Erkins-Ford’s winning free throw.
“This is the biggest game I’ve ever been in,” Gianni Cobb said. “All I wanted to do was play with my team, get them involved and get this win over a top-ranked team. That’s what we did.”