Extra Points: Bloom Exceeds All Expectations

The Bloom boys basketball team entered the season being picked to finish near the bottom of the Southland Athletic Conference.

After falling just short of a regional championship, dropping a 52-49 decision to Crete-Monee, and also finishing second in their conference behind the Warriors, you could consider their season a success.

“I think we succeeded past our expectations,” Blazing Trojans coach Jasper Williams said.  “I think we had a very good season.”

The Blazing Trojans started out with an upset win over then highly rated Mount Carmel in the Chicago Heights Classic.

“We were picked to finish next-to-last in our conference, and we did very well early in the season," Williams said. "We beat a ranked team."

But the overall season could be summed up in three words–couldn’t beat Crete-Monee.

The Blazing Trojans lost both regular-season conference matchups by scores of 56-45 and 58-39, thus finishing second to the Warriors in the Southland.

The third and most important playoff tangle appeared to be headed to another double-digit defeat until the Blazing Trojans mounted a valiant comeback, only to fall just short losing once again to the Warriors.

With the Warriors leading 47-46 and having the ball with 54 seconds left, the Blazing Trojans appeared to have forced a jump ball. However, the refs said the Warriors had called timeout.

Then, with the score 48-46 and the Warriors holding the ball, it looked like the Blazing Trojans once again had forced a tie-up, but again the refs gave the Warriors a timeout, much to the disgust of Williams and the Trojan faithful.

“To me, yes, very much so,” Williams said of his disproval of the referees.  “I was very disappointed, especially at the end of the game.”

As his team had done all season, the Blazing Trojans fought back after falling behind by 13 points.

Early on, it looked like it would be a close game throughout as the two teams were tied at 10 at the end of the first quarter. However, DePaul recruit James Crockett began to have his way both down low on the glass and with deep shots from around the perimeter.

The Blazing Trojans attempted just 12 shots in the first half much to the credit of the Warriors defense.

The fourth quarter was a different story as the Blazing Trojans were able to both create good shots from the field and also force turnovers.

“We fought back and they didn’t quit,” Williams said. “We started out good, had a little low, but that’s basketball. They had their run. We had ours.”

As a lot of games tend to go come March, it came down to one or two plays between winning and losing.

“Came down to one or two possessions there in the fourth quarter and the calls did not go our way,” Williams said.

Fighting back was something the Blazing Trojans learned this season. Beating the Warriors was something they could never figure out.

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