Bloom’s Payton Edwards goes by the nickname “P Town.” While it’s an obvious play on his first name, Edwards said the moniker was actually given to him by an AAU coach because Edwards was often out of town.
But Edwards, a senior guard, is putting a new spin on the old nickname of late.
“You can take it to a different meaning,” Edwards said. “You can say I’ll be taking my opponents to town.”
Rich Township experienced that Tuesday night. Edwards scored 17 points and sparked a huge second half for the host Blazing Trojans, who pulled away for a 58-47 Southland Conference win over the Raptors in Chicago Heights.
Elijah Lovemore scored 18 points for Bloom (15-8, 6-3). Amare Pryor added eight points and Adam Page pulled down seven rebounds.
Jamson Coulter finished with 19 points to lead Rich Township (16-7, 7-1), which played without star senior forward Al Brooks Jr. Plus, Jayden Williams added 14 points and seven rebounds.
The game was tied 27-27 at halftime before Edwards scored the first eight points of the second half. He buried a 3-pointer, scored on a pair of fast breaks and also hit a free throw.
“In the second quarter, I had no shot attempts,” Edwards said. “I knew when we started the second half that I had to get something going for me and my team for us to get this ‘W.’
“I had to get myself going. I got some good passes from my teammates and I got it going on defense.”
Edwards showed off the version of himself that Bloom coach Dante Maddox has been looking for.
“Payton is a really good player,” Maddox said. “He started off slow, but he’s been coming on strong of late. He’s very unselfish. He’s the type that wants everybody to shoot and everybody to share but this team needs him to be aggressive.
“We need the Payton that showed up (Tuesday) to show up on a nightly basis.”
Edwards has been on a hot streak, scoring 21 points in a Jan. 24 win over Thornwood and leading Bloom with 17 points in Friday’s overtime loss to Crete-Monee.
“It’s been coming to me these last four or five games,” Edwards said. “That’s when I started kicking in all the offense and defense.
“I feel like I’ve grown into being that guard you can trust.”
Lovemore knew Edwards always had this in him. He believes it was a matter of Edwards believing it himself.
“Payton always had the skill and he was always a great player, but it’s just that he’s always been timid,” Lovemore said. “Now he’s really growing into his self and matching his potential.”
Edwards gives Lovemore credit for boosting his self-confidence.
“Really it’s all about Elijah getting me comfortable,” he said. “He trusts me enough to build my confidence and help me play through the adversity and all that. It’s all thanks to our team captain, Elijah.”
Bloom led 46-34 after three quarters but the Raptors fought back to within 46-41 before Edwards scored four straight points to get his team back on track.
“Payton is phenomenal when he gets going,” Lovemore said. “When he’s playing hard and getting his shots up, he’s a really good player and a really good teammate.”
The victory over the top team in the conference was important for Bloom, which had lost three of its last four games.
“We’ve been battling a lot of injuries and sicknesses,” Lovemore said. “This was a big game for us to show that we’re still here.”
And with Edwards blossoming, big things could be ahead.
“When I play with confidence, our team is on another notch,” Edwards said. “We’re probably one of the toughest teams to beat.”
