ORR ONE WIN FROM PEORIA; VERGE LEADS THORNTON
Alonzo Verge dazzled the fans Friday in Oak Lawn. They counted points, steals and assists and marveled at his all- around skill. It was the season’s premier performance.
Verge had 43 points, 11 rebounds, six assists and five steals to lead the Wildcats to an 81- 70 victory over Bloom in the Class 4A Richards Regional final.
His teammates carried him off the court. Verge teared up talking to reporters about how much the victory meant to him and then ran over to hug his mom.
“He’s emotional, he’s been through a lot,” Thornton coach Tai Streets said. “A lot of schools, a lot of different things. At the end of the day, he’s a great kid. He makes mistakes, everyone makes mistakes. He’s learning from them. I think he’s turned the corner now.”
The Wildcats ( 22- 5) needed everything Verge had. Orlando Allen, Thornton’s second- best player, spent the majority of the first quarter on the bench with foul trouble. He never got into the flow of the game and fouled out midway through the fourth quarter.
“I knew I had to step it up,” Verge said. “I just took over for him.”
Bloom beat Thornton on Valentine’s Day. The Blazing Trojans ( 21- 7) held Verge to just 6- for- 28 shooting.
“I watched that film, watched how they pressured me,” Verge said. “Every time I came off a screen, they would double me.”
Verge scored 13 points in the first quarter and 10 each in the last three quarters.
“Once my shot is on, it is really hard to stop me because I can attack the basket, too, and I’m going to look formy teammates,” Verge said.
Bloom senior Austin Richie finished with 36 points and seven rebounds. His teammates had off nights.
“[ Richie’s performance] pushed me a lot. I just wanted to win,” Verge said. “That’s all I did. I put everything on the line formy team.”
Senior Christian Anderson had 16 points and Derron Bromfield nine for Thornton.
“[ Verge] came out and led us from the start,” Anderson said. “He wanted to get the team involved. He brought everybody’s confidence up. We were all ready. He was hot but made sure everyone was ready.”
Bloom outrebounded the Wildcats back in February. Thornton didn’t let that happen again. The Wildcats dominated the boards 41- 25.
“They kicked our butt last time,” Streets said. “They outtoughed us. Our guys stepped up to the challenge.”
Thornton will face Brother Rice on Wednesday in the sectional semifinals at Thornwood.