Rich South has no answer for Bloom’s Jared Johnson and James Coleman

THE SKINNY

Bloom cruised to its seventh Southland Conference victory Friday night by dominating Rich South 56-36 on the road. The Blazing Trojans may have found the defensive identity first-year coach Ron Ashlaw has been searching for as they limited the Stars to just 12 first-half points.

TURNING POINT

After a three-point bucket by Rich South’s Denzel Kimbrough off the opening tip, Bloom (14-7, 7-1) shut down the Stars’ offense and finished the quarter on a 12-2 run.

THE STAR

Senior forwards Jared Johnson (25 points, 6 rebounds) and James Coleman (18 points, 10 rebounds) proved to be too much for the interior defense of Rich South (10-13, 3-5). Kimbrough and junior Jeremy Ruffin each scored eight points for the Stars.

BY THE NUMBERS

Bloom’s starters scored 52 of the team’s 56 points, as all five starters found their way into the scorer’s book.

QUOTABLE

“We need to have a defensive identity to go with the scoring in order to make a run.” – Ashlaw