PONTIAC—Elijah Lovemore reached the point where there was no other option. He had to get a shot off somehow, some way.
So that’s what he did, heaving up a game-tying, buzzer-beater three-pointer at the end of regulation. It went in.
After a miserable start and a gutsy comeback, Bloom had a chance to beat West Aurora. The Blazing Trojans took advantage. They grabbed their first lead on a layup by Amare Pryor halfway through overtime and held on for a 60-54 overtime win in the first round of the Pontiac Holiday Tournament on Thursday.
“They were trying to foul me so I couldn’t get a shot up,” Lovemore said. “They hit me a couple of times so I dropped the ball. I had to get it up. I trusted myself and thought I could hit it.”
Lovemore scored 15 points and had 10 rebounds, but his contribution on defense may have been more important than any of the offense.
Travis Brown, West Aurora’s sophomore point guard, was dominant for stretches in the first half.
“He’s amazing,” Lovemore said. “He’s going to be really good, one of those big names.”
At halftime, Lovemore asked Bloom coach Dante Maddox if he could guard Brown.
“That changed the whole game,” Maddox said. “We don’t come back if [Lovemore] doesn’t take that assignment.”
Brown finished with 16 points, five assists, four rebounds and three blocks.
“He was getting whatever he wanted,” Lovemore said. “I had to step up and take that challenge for my team.”
West Aurora, playing without senior leaders Terrence Smith and Kewon Marshall, led 20-6 midway through the second quarter.
“We are trying to learn how to play together and get all the pieces on the same page,” Maddox said. “When we do that we are good and when we don’t do that we are very bad.”
Payton Edwards scored a game-high 18 points for Bloom (8-2). Prior added 16 points.
“Pontiac is the best tournament in the state,” Maddox said. “Every game is going to be a hard game. I’m grateful we won but we have to get better quickly.”