By Nick McClintock
PEORIA – A great season came to an end Friday night for the Bloomington High School Purple Raiders as they fell to Peoria Manual, 84-64, in the Class 3A sectional final.
The Purple Raiders started the game in a back-and-forth affair, but Peoria Manual quickly got its offense running, en route to an 18-0 run midway through the first period. Although Bloomington would score the final four points, the Rams would go into the second quarter with a 12-point, 21-9, deficit.
The second quarter would see Manual put up the first few baskets, increasing its lead to 29-11. Bloomington coach Michael Mosely would then call a timeout at the 4:34 mark of the second quarter to stop the big Manual run.
The talk worked for the Purple Raiders as they would rattle off the next 11 points and cut the Rams lead to three at the half, 33-30.
The Rams again got the offense running in the third quarter, quickly regaining a double-digit lead and forcing the Raiders to play from behind. The Rams would take their point advantage and increase it to 11 at the end of the third period, 56-45.
The final quarter was basically a formality as Manual increased its lead to as much as 20 points. Bloomington pushed hard in the final quarter, but couldn’t pull back within striking distance of Manual.
BHS was lead in scoring by Ilijah Donnelly with 18 points. The Purple Raiders finish the season at 25-7.
