Bloom has been a work in progress this season and right when things were starting to come together, senior leader Elijah Lovemore and promising sophomore Xavier Martin missed two weeks due to illness.
High school basketball teams have to deal with the flu, just like everyone else.
“Me and Xavier probably lost about 15 pounds each,” Lovemore said. “Luckily we got through it and had a chance to get back working and get ready for the playoffs.”
The Blazing Trojans are healthy now and the first major accomplishment in the playoffs is complete. Bloom knocked off Joliet West 50-46 in the Class 4A Joliet Central regional final on Friday.
Lovemore finished with 10 points and eight rebounds and Martin, a 6-5 forward who transferred from Brother Rice before the season, led with 12 points and eight rebounds.
“I’m just getting my groove back now,” Martin said. “We knew tonight was going to be a tough battle. We had to turn it on in the second half.”
Martin did an excellent job limiting 6-7 Joliet West junior Ethan Hillsman. The Tigers led 27-21 at halftime but were outscored 17-6 in the third quarter.
“It was just an offensive lull,” Joliet West coach Jeremy Kreiger said. “We didn’t score a basket for a really long time. We got some good looks and they didnt fall. But credit to Bloom for fighting.”
It hasn’t always been pretty for Bloom this season, but the highs have been notable and the team consistently plays hard. The Blazing Trojans (21-8) knocked off Rich twice in February.
“We’ve been growing over the last few weeks,” Bloom coach Dante Maddox said. “We were hitting our stride when they got sick and then we lost it. But those wins over Rich brought us together. The guys realized they needed each other.”
Senior Payton Edwards finished with 11 points and senior Adam Page added 11 points and five rebounds for the Blazing Trojans.
Lovemore is an excellent creator and connector, but Joliet West (21-10) did a good job of keeping the ball out of his hands for the most part.
“They were face-guarding me so I couldn’t bring the ball up,” Lovemore said. “So I told the other guys to go get the ball and I focused on playing defense and rebounding. We just out-toughed them.”
Zion Gross led Joliet West with 17 points and seven rebounds. The athletic, 6-5 senior blossomed this season. He averaged 18 points and eight rebounds and fully lived up to the promise he flashed last year.
“He grabbed the torch and ran with it,” Kreiger said. “What he’s done this year is he’s shown a commitment to guard and improved his voice in the locker room. He’s matured so much and he’s going to be a spectacular player at the next level. Wherever that ends up being.”
Bloom advances to the Rich sectional semifinal and will face No. 1 seed Homewood-Flossmoor on Tuesday. The Vikings knocked off Romeoville 76-46 on Friday.