Boys basketball: Joliet West rumbles into quarterfinals at Pontiac Holiday Tournament

PONTIAC – Joliet West ran an effective play off the opening tip, and standout Jeremy Fears Jr. found himself all alone on the baseline poised for an easy score.

But the pass was errant, causing Fears to touch the end line. In the grand scheme of things, it didn’t mean much, but it seemed to plant a bit of chip on the shoulder of the Michigan State-bound standout.

You don’t want to play Fears when he has any kind of a chip on his shoulder.

Fears scored 22 in the first half Wednesday and finished with a game-high 32 points as Joliet West fended off a scrappy Bloomington squad 76-58 in the opening round of the Pontiac Holiday Tournament.

The win lifts the Tigers into Thursday’s quarterfinal round, where they will face off against Lockport, which claimed a 58-56 overtime win over Peoria Manual earlier in the day.

“I don’t think that was a big factor, but I really just caught fire,” Fears said.

Fears hit three 3-pointers in the opening quarter as the Tigers broke out to a 23-13 lead. He added 11 points in the second quarter, including another 3-pointer just before halftime, as Joliet West (10-2) stretched its lead to 41-26 at the break. The Tigers capped the first half with an 8-0 run.

“It’s just a testament to the work [Fears] has put in,” Joliet West coach Jeremy Kreiger said. “There’s no secret, he’s the best floor general, true point guard, in the country, regardless of age or stars that are put in front of his name.

“Our biggest thing is to try to develop him as an offensive threat but more importantly as a shooter. When he goes to the Big Ten, he’s going to see a lot of drop coverage, and they are going to dare him to shoot, and he just needs to trust in the work he has put in.”

Bloomington (2-8) didn’t allow Joliet West to gain true separation until late in the third quarter when another 8-0 run pushed the Tigers’ advantage past 20 points.

It wasn’t the cleanest performance for the Tigers, who hadn’t seen game action since a win over Neelah, Wisconsin, on Dec. 17. A potential signature game against defending Class 3A state champions Sacred Heart-Griffin on Dec. 23 was canceled because of inclement weather.

“I told them it was going to be a challenge to them over a course of four quarters,” Kreiger said of the long layoff and disappointment of not facing SHG. “And as the game wore on, you could see that the energy and our defense started to stifle [Bloomington].”

The second-seeded Tigers have their eyes on the big prize at Pontiac, something that hasn’t happened for Joliet since back-to-back titles in 2000 and 2001 [as Joliet Township].

Kreiger substituted freely Wednesday in the hopes that his team understands the grind it faces this week.

“I’ve just told them to be mindful ... , if and when they take care of business, we have to beat Bloomington and Lockport,” he said.

Lockport 58, Peoria Manual 56 (OT)

Caden Schoolcraft knew he had an advantage that was being allowed to him during Wednesday’s opening-round matchup with Peoria Manual.

But the senior forward took his time exploiting it to his full advantage. When he did, he scored 12 pivotal second-half points in Lockport’s 58-56 overtime win over Peoria Manual. The victory marked Lockport’s first win in the opening round at the Pontiac Tournament since a win over Waukegan in the 2010 event.

The victory lifts Lockport (10-3), winner of five straight, into Thursday’s 11 a.m. quarterfinals, where it will face Joliet West, who claimed a 76-58 win over Bloomington in its opening-round matchup.

That fate for Lockport didn’t look exceptionally plausible late in the fourth quarter against Manual until Schoolcraft and his teammates quickly turned the tide.

“It was a close game, and they were guarding us tightly,” Schoolcraft said. “And I had the backdoor that was there.”

Schoolcraft, who didn’t score in the first half, proceeded to go on a frenzy late in the game, scoring two baskets in less than 30 seconds on basically the same move to keep Lockport’s chances of winning still an option.

Schoolcraft’s scoring rush combined with a basket and a 3-pointer from Jalen Falcon pulled Lockport to within 48-47 with 15 seconds to play. After Manual’s Gerron Trapps connected on a pair of free throws to push the Manual lead back to three, Labuda banked in a 3-pointer to force overtime.

Schoolman picked up right where he left off, opening the overtime with a pair of successful free throws and another basket, but Manual still kept contact and forged yet another tie on a pair of Devonte Burse free throws with 22 seconds to play.

But Falcon drew a foul on Manual on the ensuing possession and sank two free throws with 13.7 seconds to play, and the Porters got a defensive stop on the other end to secure the hard-fought win and its place in the quarterfinals.