Bloom survives, Hillcrest coasts at Chicago Heights Classic

Bloom survived, but just barely.

It took two free throws from Keshawn Williams with six seconds to play to give the No. 5 Blazing Trojans a 54-52 win against Thornwood on Tuesday in the Chicago Heights Classic.

“I’m used to that pressure,” Williams said. “I like to be in those types of situations.”

Thornwood (0-2) led for most of the game and opened up a 11-point advantage midway through the third quarter.

Bloom surged back to tie and then Thornwood took a five point lead on a three-point play by senior guard Christian Simmons with 4:54 to play.

“Everyone is shooting for us because we’ve received a little hype,” Bloom coach Dante Maddox said. “They have to prove that they deserve the hype. We did enough to win but we can’t keep playing like that.”

Bloom’s talented group of juniors has high expectations. But it is important to remember that the Blazing Trojans haven’t actually made their mark yet.

“The next step for this team is having the maturity to know that every single game we are the hunted,” Maddox said. “We never even had a chance to hunt ourselves last year because we were so young. So we went from not hunting at all to being hunted. So you are going to have some games like this.”

Thornwood’s Christian Simmons (0) drives to the hoop verse Bloom Tuesday 11-20-18 Worsom Robinson/For Sun-Times

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Bloom’s Martice Mitchell (2) and Donovan Newby attempt to block a shoot put up by Thornwood’s Zachary Carr (1) Tuesday 11-20-18 Worsom Robinson/For Sun-Times

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Bloom’s Dante Maddox Jr. (12) cuts off the lane from Thornwood’s Ryan Stanton (10) Tuesday 11-20-18 Worsom Robinson/For the Sun-Times.

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Bloom’s Donavan Newby (1) glides to the rim. Worsom Robinson/For the Sun-Times.

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Bloom’s Keshawn Williams (12) pushes the ball down court. Worsom Robinson/For the Sun-Times.

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Thornwood’s Donald Coats (2) fouls Bloom’s Dante Maddox Jr. Worsom Robinson/For the Sun-Times.

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Bloom’s Martice Mitchell (2) looks for an open player. Worsom Robinson/For the Sun-Times.

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Bloom’s Emani Burgess (0) goes up over Thornwood’s Jeremiah Tarver. Worsom Robinson/For the Sun-Times.

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Thornwood’s Christian Simmons (0) changes direction. Worsom Robinson/For the Sun-Times.

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Thornwood’s Jeremiah Tarver (35) gets an easy two points. Worsom Robinson/For the Sun-Times.

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Bloom’s Martice Mitchell (2) goes up for a dunk. Worsom Robinson/For the Sun-Times.

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Thornwood’s Donald Coats (2) boxes out Bloom’s Emani Burgess. Worsom Robinson/For the Sun-Times.

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Donovan Newby led Bloom (2-0) with 16 points and Dante Maddox Jr. added 12. Martice Mitchell, a 6-10 junior, had 11 points and nine rebounds.

The Thunderbirds played excellent team basketball. Simmons (10 points) and fellow senior guard Zachary Carr (21 points) controlled the game for long stretches. Jeremiah Tarver, a wide-bodied 6-5 senior, added 11 points and six rebounds and passed the ball well.

“Thornwood did an awesome job,” Maddox said. “They are well-coached and gave us everything we could handle.”

The Blazing Trojans face a huge test on Wednesday against No. 23 Hillcrest. The Hawks beat Vocational 63-48 in the first game of the night.

Hillcrest (2-0) jumped out to a 23-4 lead but the Cavaliers (0-2) slowly clawed their way back and cut the lead to three points late in the third quarter. The Hawks responded with an 11-2 run to retake control.

Dylan West, a 6-7 senior, had 17 points and 18 rebounds for Hillcrest.

“Those are some big totals for me but I need to start averaging that,” West said.

Senior guard Jeremiah Staten added 16 points for the Hawks and sophomore Mar’Keise Irving added 13.

“[Staten] kind of had guards in front of him last year that did the scoring,” Hillcrest coach Don Houston said. “But now is his time, he can score.”

Senior Naashar Banks-Carter led the Cavaliers with 17 points and Seth Williams added four points and 11 rebounds.