BJ Powell was feeling it. The freshman had an extra hop in his step and a sparkle in his eyes. He wasn’t a freshman anymore, not in the overtimes. Powell had become one of the best players on the floor, leading No. 16 Lincoln-Way East to a 79-75 double-overtime win against No. 12 Bloom on Wednesday in Chicago Heights.
Griffins senior Tylon Toliver nailed a long three pointer at the buzzer in regulation to send the game to overtime.
“[The play] was drawn up for me,” Toliver said. “I just had to execute it. I knew it was going in as soon as I shot it.”
It was not intended to be such a long three.
“Not at all,” Toliver said. “That just happened.”
Toliver scored 29 points for the Griffins (15-1) but fouled out early in the first overtime. Powell stepped up, scoring eight of his career-high 18 points in the two overtimes. He also had two key assists in the extra time. He passed to Matt Hudik, who drained a three to tie the game at the buzzer of the first overtime.
“We’ve been down before,” Toliver said. “It wasn’t our first time. We have a good team and we know how to battle through adversity.”
Bloom just wanted the game to end. Multiple times in the fourth quarter the Blazing Trojans extended possessions as long as possible, passing up open shots to take more time off the clock.
“We just had to play defense during that,” Toliver said. “They were trying to slow it down but we just had to get stops.
Bloom led by 11 with 1:44 to play in regulation. Toliver scored 10 points and Powell had five from then on to tie the game.
“[Powell] is cold,” Toliver said. “He’s a freshman but he has a lot of moves and locks up on defense. You can’t tell he’s a freshman.”
Powell doesn’t start, but he’s been on varsity all season and is a key member of Lincoln-Way East’s rotation. His confidence was sky-high in the overtime. He got to the basket multiple times for scores.
“I knew we had to get a shot so it was either I kick it out or go to the basket,” Powell said. “If I was open I took the shot.”
Senior George Bellevue had 16 points and 11 rebounds for the Griffins. His two free throws with 26 seconds left in the second overtime helped seal the win.
Senior Raeshom Harris led Bloom (11-5) with 30 points and five rebounds. Sophomore Elijah Lovemore added 15 points. Michael Garner, a 6-7 senior, had six points and seven rebounds.
Bloom impressed at the Pontiac Holiday Tournament last month. Coach Dante Maddox has a nice mix of size and experience and promising youth. The Blazing Trojans are missing two players, Jaden Clark and Jayden Watson, due to injuries.
But Bloom was still a solid favorite, especially at home. Lincoln-Way East has been ranked all season and won the Effingham/Teutopolis Holiday Tournament. But the Griffins entered the game far less battle-tested than the Blazing Trojans, who played a close game against Kenwood on Saturday.
“This is big for us,” Toliver said.
