Homewood-Flossmoor’s 6-foot-8-inch Julian Wright can do a lot of things on the court that players his age and size aren’t supposed to be able to do.
Friday night against Bloom, the Kansas-bound senior did something he normally doesn’t by asserting himself offensively right from the opening tip.
In doing so Wright led his team to a 66-47 SICA East victory over the Blazing Trojans (15-9, 3-5) in Flossmoor.
On Jan. 8 it took three overtimes for the No. 10 Vikings (18-4, 6-2) to subdue Bloom.
“We were a lot more aggressive in our zone defense and last time we were a little too relaxed in it,” Wright said after finishing with a game-high 23 points that included five dunks. He also added seven rebounds, two blocks, two steals and two assists before fouling out late in the final quarter.
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“This time around we wanted to set the tone early and do the little things, like stop the second-chance shots.”
Rebounding was a definite advantage for the Vikings. They recorded a 46-20 edge thatincluded 12 points off offensive putbacks.
“The tempo was different this time and they just killed us on the boards,” Bloom coach Jasper Williams said. “We played a little more physical the first game. This time we pretty let them have their way.”
Andre Walker had 15 points for the Vikings.