Boys Basketball: Bloom Finds Perfect Remedy to End Two-Game Skid

The Skinny: For 6 magical minutes, the Bloom Township High School boys basketball team made like ex-South Sider Mark Buehrle during one of his baseball pitching gems. The Trojans were near perfect at the outset of a 55-35 victory over Joliet Central on Tuesday night in Joliet. Dejahown Freeman’s 3-pointer capped a flurry that saw Bloom hit 7-of-8 shots and build a commanding 19-0 lead. The Trojans’ sticky man-to-man defense pitched a shutout until Joliet Central’s Jonah Coble scored on a drive with 1:19 left in the first quarter. Ten players scored for Bloom. Henry Hicks led the way with 17 points on 8-of-10 shooting.

Patch’s MVP: Henry Hicks, 6-2, senior, guard, Bloom Township. Hicks made 8-of-10 shots and scored a game-high 17 points. His defense helped create offense—for himself and his teammates. And his ability to run the floor had folks calling him the “finisher” in the second half.

How it happened: Bloom hit 7-of-8 shots in a 19-0 scoring burst to open the game. The Trojans used a stifling man-to-man defense to force Joliet Central into five turnovers in the first quarter and 26 overall. The Steelmen were limited to 18 shots in the first half. Four of the five Joliet Central starters went scoreless.

Bloom Leaders: Henry Hicks (17 points, 8-of-10 shooting), Dejahown Freeman (9 points), Jataryan Dejaraux (8 points, all in the first quarter), Nyhree Mitchell (6 points, 4 rebounds, 1 block), Darryl Carr (4 points, 3 rebounds).

Joliet Central Leaders: Jalen Heath (16 points, 2 3-pointers), Jonah Coble (11 points, 4 rebounds), K.J. Carpenter (7 points, 3-of-4 free throws).

Quotable I: “The key to that start—it actually started yesterday in practice,” Bloom Township’s Henry Hicks said. “We got it hard. It was real intense. And we just brought the same intensity out here on the floor today.”

Quotable II: “They responded,” Bloom Township coach Jasper Williams said. “This is what we’re going to have to do for the rest of the season. They got kind of complacent there—13-0 and got the big heads. We had to bring them back down to earth.”

Quotable III: “Bloom is the best team that we’ve seen,” Joliet Central coach Jeff Corcoran said. “I refer to it as the sectional because people are going to have to go through them in order to come out. Very good, very disciplined. And right now we’re not.”

Team Records: Bloom Township snapped a two-game losing streak and raised its record to 14-2. Joliet Central slipped to 6-8.

What’s Next: Bloom faces Crete-Monee at 6:30 p.m. Friday (Jan. 13) in a game that will be played at Bloom Trail High School. Bloom fans are being encouraged to mark the special occasion of the Blazing Trojans’ return to Bloom Trail for the first time since 1995 by wearing “Whiteout” T-shirts. Whiteout T-shirts will be on sale at the gate. Joliet Central plays at Lockport at 7:30 p.m. Friday (Jan. 13).