Thornton and Bloom are an even 5-5 against one another since December of 2019, but not for long. The Thornton Wildcats are taking a road trip to face off against the Bloom Blazing Trojan at 6:30 p.m. on Friday.
Last Tuesday, Thornton was within striking distance but couldn't close the gap as they fell 47-41 to Crete-Monee. While losing is never fun, the Wildcats can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Illinois basketball rankings (they are ranked 312th, while the Warriors are ranked 97th).
Despite the loss, Thornton had strong showings from Jeremy Blanco-Rios, who posted 12 points and five assists, and Deandre Higgs, who went 7 of 14 en route to 16 points. Greg Fourte was another key player, putting up five points and five rebounds.
Meanwhile, Bloom waltzed into their game on Tuesday with two straight wins... but they left with three. They really took it to the Falcons for the full four quarters, racking up an 89-51 victory. The Blazing Trojan have made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won seven contests by 23 points or more this season.
Thornton better keep an eye on Joe Jones. He was instrumental in Bloom's win, posting six points and six boards. The dominant performance gave Jones a new career-high in rebounds.
Bloom's win was their third straight at home, which pushed their record up to 12-5. The wins came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 78.0 points per game. As for Thornton, this is the second loss in a row for them and nudges their season record down to 5-10.
Friday's matchup is shaping up to be a scrappy game: Thornton has been smashing the glass this season, having averaged 27 boards per game. It's a different story for Bloom, though, as they've been averaging only 3.1 rebounds. Given Thornton's sizable advantage in that area, Bloom will need to find a way to close that gap.
Thornton strolled past Bloom when the teams last played back in January of 2024 by a score of 69-52. Does Thornton have another victory up their sleeve, or will Bloom turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
