Justin Bocot scored 31 points in Bloomington's 106-90 win over St. Louis Thursday. (Photo courtesy Facebook/Bloomington Flex)
By WJBC Staff
BLOOMINGTON – With visitors from St. Louis, it was appropriate the first half was befitting the pace of a Clydesdale – tough, physical and slow. But with the RiverSharks in foul trouble early, the second half saw the gates open for Bloomington’s Justin Bocot and Anthony Slack, and those thoroughbreds were finally able to break away to lead the Flex to a 106-90 win in Midwest Professional Basketball Association play at U.S. Cellular Coliseum Thursday.
St. Louis got out to an early first-quarter lead before the Flex took their first lead of the game at the 7:55 mark of the period at 7-6. The Flex then used an 11-0 run from the end of the first quarter into the second to take a 19-15 lead, but the RiverSharks answered with a run of their own to tie the game at 21.
The teams traded the lead back and forth for much of the second quarter, with the RiverSharks going up 37-34 midway through the period—but that would be their last lead of the night, as the Flex closed out the first half with a 42-39 lead.
The third quarter was all Bloomington, as the hosts outscored the visitors 34-21 behind an offensive explosion by Justin Bocot and Anthony Slack. Bocot, leading the MPBA in scoring coming into the contest at 30.0 points per game, was held to just eight first-half points, while Slack scored only seven.
Bocot finished the game with 31 points, while Slack—who brought the house down with ferocious tomahawk dunks on consecutive possessions—finished with 21 points, 9 rebounds and 3 blocks. C.J. Hampton added 14 points for Bloomington, which upped its record to 2-1. Bocot’s 31 points marked the first time in team history a player scored 30 or more points in three consecutive games.
Brandon Hogg, playing much of the game in foul trouble, finished with 18 points for the RiverSharks, who fell to 3-2. Keith DeWitt had 14 points and 8 rebounds, while new addition Anthony Booker tallied 13 points and 8 boards.
The Flex are off until Jan. 21, when they travel to Chicago to take on the Windy City Groove for the first of four straight road games, while the RiverSharks are idle until Jan. 25, when they take on the Chicago Force in the first of six home games.
