Boys Basketball: Late Bloom surge upends Hillcrest

Updated: November 22, 2011 9:30PM

In a wild back-and-forth contest Tuesday night, it was Bloom’s fourth-quarter run that put the game away.

Bloom used a 10-0 run late to take control en route to a 61-58 win over No. 20 Hillcrest in the Chicago Heights Classic.

“Basketball is a game of streaks and I’m glad we had ours at the end of the game,” Bloom coach Jasper Williams said. “It’s a sign of an experienced team when you can overcome what we did.”

A three-point play from Donald Moore (23 points) began with a putback and drew Bloom (2-0) even at 48. Four points from Johnny Griffin (seven points), two free throws from Dejahown Freeman (10 points, seven rebounds) and one from Moore gave the hosts a 56-49 edge.

Aided by a technical foul on Williams, Hillcrest (1-1) got to within 58-55 in the final two minutes but a basket by Lejavius Johnson (eight points) iced it.

Down 29-23 at the half, the Hawks opened the third-quarter with an 18-2 run and seemed to be in control before Bloom’s late surge. Jayone Troutman (20 points) led the Hillcrest run with nine points, including a pair of thunderous dunks.

Bloom turned the ball over eight times against the Hillcrest press in the third, but settled down to commit just one turnover in the fourth quarter.

“We came out sloppy, but I told the team ‘We’re not losing this game,’ ” Moore said. “I’ve got to be a leader. This is my senior year and it’s all about winning.”

Foul trouble hurt Bloom early as three starters picked up two fouls each in the first five minutes. Hillcrest took advantage by jumping to an 18-13 second-quarter lead before Bloom went on a 16-1 run to grab the halftime edge.

Jovan Mooring had 16 points and five rebounds and Kyle Oden added 11 points for Hillcrest.

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