Troy Watson said he does it every game: The Homewood-Flossmoor guard wears a headband in the first half and goes without it in the second half.
Perhaps Watson should consider losing the headband for all four quarters next time. The 6-foot-3-inch, 180-pound senior caught fire in the second half Friday night, igniting the Vikings’ come-from-behind 59-52 upset of No. 7 Bloom in a SICA East game before packed home gym.
Watson scored 15 of his team-high 17 points in the second half, including 12 in the fourth quarter as the Vikings (6-3, 1-1) erased a 39-36 deficit after three quarters and kept Bloom (6-2, 0-2) winless in conference.
“The shots weren’t falling in the first half, so I decided I was going to go to the hole in the second half,” Watson said.
Watson buried two three-pointers in the fourth quarter–the second gave the Vikings a 49-48 advantage. He also hit a runner in the lane with 40 seconds left to increase the lead to 55-52, and he sealed the victory with a pair of free throws.
“He’s a shooter,” H-F coach Roy Condotti said. “When he gets in a rhythm, he’s tough to stop.”
It seemed as Watson went, so did the Vikings’ offense. In the fourth quarter, H-F converted 8-of-11 shots from the field and shot 64 percent in the second half after it struggled mightily from the field in the first two quarters. Bloom led 24-17 at the half.
Adam Dauksas tallied 16 points, and his two free throws with 2 minutes 2 seconds remaining gave the Vikings a 51-50 advantage, one that it wouldn’t relinquish again after seven lead changes in a four-minute span. Chris Lidell added 10 points for H-F.
Bloom, which led for all but four minutes through three quarters, was paced by Joe Chapman’s 21 points and 10 rebounds. But Chapman, who had 19 through three quarters, missed four consecutive free throws in the final 1:52, allowing the Vikings to pull away.
Sean Duncan
Up next: Saturday at home vs. Lockport.
3. Thornwood
David Moss had 15 points and 11 rebounds to lead four players in double figures as the Thunderbirds (6-0, 2-0) crushed Thornton 74-35 in the SICA East. Geremie Allison had 14 points, Melvin Buckley contributed 13 points and Pierre Thomas added 12 points. Thornwood held a 45-18 rebounding advantage.
“We played with a lot of effort tonight,” Thornwood coach Kevin Hayhurst said. “This was as close as we’ve come this year to playing four full quarters. We showed a lot of energy out there.”
Tyrone Coleman had 16 points for Thornton (3-4, 0-2).
Up next: Saturday vs. Lyons Township at Loyola University.
4. Joliet
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Kellen Easley scored 15 points and grabbed nine rebounds as the Steelmen (9-0, 3-0) coasted to a 61-43 victory over Lincoln-Way East in the SICA West. Brandon Shoemaker added 14 points off the bench for Joliet.
Ken McCormick had 10 points for Lincoln-Way East (0-9, 0-3).
Up next: Tuesday at Romeoville.
5. West Aurora
Dameon Mason scored 12 points to lead a balanced attack as the Blackhawks (6-1, 2-1) downed Glenbard East 53-38 in the DuPage Valley. West Aurora scored the first eight points of the second half to break open a close game.
Brett Finnie’s 12 points led Glenbard East (2-5, 0-3).
Up next: Friday at home vs. Wheaton Warrenville South.
10. Shepard
Thornridge (5-2, 2-0) upset the Astros 45-43 in the SICA East. Shepard drops to 6-1, 1-1. See story, Back Page.
Up next: Friday at No. 3 Thornwood.
11. Westinghouse
Jamaal Brown scored 19 points and Darius Glover added 15 points as Westinghouse (2-1) advanced to the semifinals of the Paducah (Ky.) tournament with a 60-49 victory over Memphis Raleigh Egypt. Westinghouse used a 11-1 run in the fourth quarter to seal the win.
“We won it pretty ugly,” Westinghouse coach Chris Head said. “That’s the way we’ve been winning games. I’ll take that.”
Chris McFadgeon led Raleigh Egypt (9-4), which committed 24 turnovers.
Up next: Saturday at Paducah Tilghman tournament against Paducah Tilghman.
13. St. Rita
Dan Kloak and Ashtyn Bell scored 15 points apiece as Fenwick (6-1, 2-1) upset the Mustangs 71-63 in Catholic League action. Mike Rembert had 14 points and Jerrah Young added 13 for St. Rita (6-3, 2-2). See story, Back Page.
Up next: Tuesday at home vs. Mt. Carmel.
14. Brother Rice
Rick Harrigan totaled 30 points and 10 rebounds and made eight three-pointers as the Crusaders (7-1, 3-0) romped past St. Ignatius 74-54. Harrigan’s cousin Mike added 10 points off the bench, including eight in Rice’s 20-4 third-quarter run. Ray Jendra chipped in with 12 points for the winners.
Ian Barney’s 11 points led St. Ignatius (3-5, 2-2).
Up next: Tuesday at home vs. Hales Franciscan.
15. Wheaton North
Kyle McClure scored 10 of his game-high 16 points in the second quarter as the Falcons (7-0, 3-0) defeated Glenbard North 58-55 in the DuPage Valley. Wheaton North outscored Glenbard North 23-9 in the second to build a 33-21 halftime lead. Dareon Spencer added 14 points for the Falcons, who held on despite a fourth-quarter charge by Glenbard North.
Craig Klos led Glenbard North (7-1, 2-1) with 15 points.
Up next: Saturday at Elk Grove.
16. Leo
De La Salle coach Tom White feared the worst when his star Aaron Wellington was diagnosed with an injury to his left Achilles’ heel earlier this week.
Wellington, who was medically cleared Thursday, took the court Friday to give Leo its own nightmares.
The point guard tallied 30 points, eight rebounds, seven steals and three assists to lead the Meteors (5-2, 3-1) to a 76-71 upset of Leo.
“We thought we might have lost Wellington for the season,” White said. “He was [just] cleared to play by the doctors, and tonight he made the difference in the game.”
Leo closed to within five points on several occasions in the fourth quarter, but Wellington had a basket and two free throws in the final 31 seconds to seal the victory.
Marc Harvey added 18 points for De La Salle. Frank Clair led Leo (6-3, 2-1) with 21 points.
Up next: Tuesday at home vs. Fenwick.
17. New Trier
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Brian Sortal scored 19 points and Ted Rosinski added 17 points as the Trevians (7-1, 2-0) defeated Waukegan in the Central Suburban South. New Trier led 35-32 in the third before going on a 13-2 run.
Up next: Saturday vs. No. 8 Julian at Loyola University.
19. Barrington
Cassidy Peterson scored 14 points as Palatine (5-3, 3-0) upended the Broncos 43-40 in the Mid-Suburban West. Michael Klear had 18 points for Barrington (7-2, 1-2) See story, Back Page.
Up next: Friday at home vs. Conant.
20. Schaumburg
Tony Young scored 11 of his game-high 25 points in the fourth quarter as the Saxons (8-1, 2-1) edged Hoffman Estates 66-63 in the Mid-Suburban West. Young made two free throws with 13 seconds left to put Schaumburg ahead by four points. Craig Reichel added 10 points and nine rebounds for the winners.
Brian Mead scored 19 points, but missed a game-tying three-point attempt at the buzzer for Hoffman Estates (5-4, 1-2).
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Up next: Friday at home vs. Palatine.