Just about the only thing that’s slowed down Bloom’s Elijah Lovemore this season was the new pair of shoes he broke out for the first half against Crete-Monee.
The senior guard has been a stat stuffer all season, piling up triple-doubles with relative ease. But something was off Tuesday night.
“I had new shoes on that I just got, and when I got in the game, I realized they were a size too big,” Lovemore said. “I could touch my toes and feel the space. I couldn’t change them until the second half. I was kind of in my head, too, with some personal stuff that is going on. It just didn’t feel real in the first half.
“At halftime, I changed my shoes, put my old shoes on, got out there and played hard.”
Lovemore found his comfort zone in the second half and led the host Blazing Trojans to a 54-51 overtime win over the Warriors in a Southland Conference game in Chicago Heights.
Lovemore finished with 16 points and 10 rebounds, while Amare Pryor scored 17 points for Bloom (10-5, 2-1). Joe Jones chipped in with seven points, Payton Edwards pulled down seven rebounds and Deontate Hill had the go-ahead basket in OT.
Jaylen Blakes led Crete-Monee (11-5, 2-1) with 24 points and eight rebounds. Jaydon Watts scored 11 points, Jayden Preston added seven points and Zyheir Gardner contributed six points and seven rebounds.
The Warriors led most of the way, but Lovemore helped Bloom shake off a sluggish start and rally for the win.
“In my head I was thinking, ‘We’ve got to pick this up because if we keep going like this, we’re going to lose,’” Lovemore said. “I feel like I’m the leader of my team and we go as I go.
“I played hard and then we all played hard. I made baskets then everybody else made baskets. We played the right way in the second half and we got the victory.”
Pryor ignited Bloom’s offense, scoring 11 points in the third quarter, but he was quick to credit Lovemore for sparking the team.
“Elijah is the guy who really got us going,” Pryor said. “He knows our spots. He makes sure he gets us the ball at the right time in the right position. He’s really helping me and Payton score.”
Lovemore scored three of Bloom’s five points in OT, forcing a 51-51 tie on a spinning runner in the lane and adding a free throw with 19 seconds left to give the Blazing Trojans a three-point lead.
In between, Hill was the unlikely hero. The reserve senior guard, who had just one point in regulation, came up with a steal and raced for a layup on the other end to give Bloom the lead for good with 1:30 to go.
“It was crazy,” Hill said. “Amare came and helped me with the back tap, and then I just took it the whole way and got the layup. We got some momentum, got another stop on defense and got the win.
“It means a lot that I finally got to shine, get my name out there and put on for my team.”
Lovemore, meanwhile, made sure his team was in position to win the game, according to Bloom coach Dante Maddox.
“He’s our leader and he’s got a lot of responsibility to get everyone involved,” Maddox said.
Lovemore takes pride in being able to do anything that’s needed.
“That’s extremely important to me,” Lovemore said. “I kind of have like a three-person job. I’ve got to rebound, I’ve got make my guys better by getting them the ball in the right spots and I have to make sure I get involved scoring-wise as well.”
