Boys Basketball: Sandburg pulls off stunner vs Bloom

Updated: January 17, 2012 9:00PM

It ain’t over till it’s over.

No. 9 Bloom found that out the hard way Monday against Sandburg at the Martin Luther King Day of Hoops Tournament at Joliet Central.

The Blazing Trojans led 36-27 with 1:43 remaining in regulation.

Game over?

Hardly.

Sandburg mounted a furious comeback, riding the hot hand of Nick Lehnerer to pull off a stunning 47-43 overtime win.

“Holy cow, I didn’t realize we were down nine at that time,” Sandburg coach Todd Allen said. “We didn’t give up.”

Lehnerer hit three three-pointers, including a bomb from the top of the key with 1.4 seconds left in regulation to forge a 39-39 tie. He finished with 16 points.

Ken Payonk (nine points) and Malek Harris nailed down the victory in the extra session. Payonk had five points and Harris three in OT. The duo combined to go 6-of-8 from the free-throw line.

“Nick hit some huge shots — he’s that type of player,” Allen said. “And we did a good job with our free throws.”

Bloom (14-3) outscored the Eagles (8-7) 9-2 in the third quarter to take a 30-25 lead. Johnny Griffin (10 points) scored six points in the period for the Blazing Trojans, who held the ball for nearly three minutes to close the period. Sandburg was content to sit in its zone defense.

“They held it and we were happy with a five-point game going into the fourth,” Allen said. “We were tired and they were on a 9-0 run.”

It was a close game for most of the first half. Bloom opened up a 17-14 lead on a pair of free throws by Donald Moore, who was held to six points on the day. Sandburg responded with a 7-0 run to grab a 21-17 lead before settling for a 23-21 edge at the break.

L.J. Johnson led Bloom with 16 points.

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