Bears News: Jaron Blossomgame’s debut lifts Windy City past Blue Claws |
To say Jaron Blossomgame’s Windy City debut was great would be an understatement as he helped lead the Windy City Bulls (12-17) to a huge road win over the Delaware Blue Claws (17-13) 114-103. Not only did the former Clemson Tiger lead the team in minutes played with 39, but his 26 points led all scorers on the night to go with an impressive 16 rebounds. He was joined by five other Bulls in the double figure category with Tre’Darius McCallum (19), Thomas Wilder and Justin Simon (17 each), Simisola Shittu (14) and V.J. Beachem (13) to lead the balanced attack.
After going through a mainly back and forth first quarter with Beachem having the hot hand early, the Blue Claws were able to mount a 26-19 lead and looked as if things could turn into a blowout early. That is when Simon hit a three pointer to get the offense rolling in a big way for the Bulls as that three was the beginning of 11-0 run to put the Bulls on top 30-26 before leading 32-29 after one. The Windy City offense continued to remain hot in the early stages of the second as Blossomgame and McCallum get the frantic pace going. Ferrakohn Hall got in on the action with a three as the Bulls opened the second quarter on a 14-4 run to take a 46-33 lead. The balanced scoring attack continued to raise problems for the Blue Claws as Windy City led 65-54 at the break. Basketball is a game of runs, and the Bulls opened the third with another run as Beachem, Blossomgame and Shittu got things rolling on a 9-2 run to now lead 74-56. This was the quarter where Simon and Shittu began to get involved as more offensive fire power took center stage for Windy City giving them a comfortable 95-81 lead through three. Despite a terrible shooting fourth quarter, Wilder was able to remain hot as he was a bulk of the offense early. Obviously Shittu and Blossomgame chipped in their fair share of points, but Windy City was ice cold for a majority of that fourth quarter. Thankfully, the Blue Claws were just as cold, and a comeback effort was not in the cards as the Windy City Bulls cruised from the end of the first quarter on to wrap up the 114-103 road win. The Bulls shot 47.5 % from the floor and connected on 39.1% of their three-point attempts making 18 of them in the game. Despite shooting just 66% from the line, the Bulls only had six free throw attempts showing how dynamic their offense really was. Delaware nearly matched them from deep making 16 threes on 32% shooting while they shot just 42% from the floor. The Bulls will be back in action Friday as they start a three game homestand.
