Bloom, Yeo Shine Among Stars
MISHAWAKA – Jared Bloom wanted to make some more basketball memories.
Clay Yeo was just looking for a little hoops therapy to ease his mind.
Both of the former prep standouts got their wishes in the McDonald’s Michiana High School All-Star contested Monday night.
The pair, along the way, also helped their Red Team to a 140-122 win over the Gray Team in the second annual event played out in front of a crowd of 2,631 fans in the Wiekamp Center on the Bethel College campus.
Bloom, a senior guard from Warsaw, scored 15 points for the winners. Yeo, a senior guard from Triton, scored 23 points for the victors.
Bloom, who had a sensational senior year, scored 10 points in the final half as the Red outscored the Gray 71-65.
“I just wanted to come out and make some memories playing against some great players,” said Bloom. “I just wanted to try and compete. I think I did alright.”
“I did have fun out there tonight. Some of these guys are going on to play on the big stage at some big college programs and I can say I played in the same game as they did.”
Bloom, who led the Tigers to a Class 4-A sectional title, hit 5-8 shots, including 3-4 from 3-point range. He was also 2-2 from the line and had four rebounds and two assists.
Bloom, who was clutch all season as the top scorer for coach Doug Ogle’s Tigers, is now focused on trying to find a place to play at the next level. He has not yet committed to a college.
“I’m still trying to figure out the college thing,” said Bloom. “I was in the gym the day after we lost in the regional. I want to play next year really bad. I just have to keep working hard.”
Yeo put on quite the dunking show in the game which included not even a hint of defense for most of the 40 minutes. The 6-6 guard slammed down a half dozen dunks in hitting 11-16 shots from the field.
Yeo, coming off a disappointing 55-50 loss to Borden in the Class 1-A state championship game on Saturday, was not the only dunker for the Red team. Austin Torres, a 6-7 forward from Penn and a Notre Dame recruit, had several monster slams as he scored 23 points for the winners.
“It was fun tonight,” said Yeo. “We were kind of having a little back-and-forth battle about the best dunks.
“This was great therapy for me. It was just a weight and a load off my shoulders to come out here and play with a lot of my friends with all of my family here.”
Yeo admitted the loss on Saturday, his second setback in a state title game in his brilliant prep career, was tough to swallow.
“I was pretty bummed and it’s going to hurt and burn for a while,” Yeo said.
The versatile Yeo scored a game-high 26 points Saturday, including 19 in the final quarter to fuel a Triton comeback. He finished his career as the all-time leading scorer in Marshall County history with 1,992 points and should be a lock to be Triton’s first boys Indiana All-Star.
Yeo, who will play at Valparaiso University, scored 14 points in the opening half Monday night to pace the Red team to a 69-57 lead. The Gray team got as close as 86-81 with 13:08 to play in the game. The Red squad then went on an 18-5 run to put the game away.
Senior Brock Cosey (South Bend Riley) led the winners with 25 points. Yeo and Torres each had 23, while Ball State bound Franko House of Concord scored 18. Junior Michael Bush (South Bend Adams), Bloom and senior Leo Svete (Penn) each added 15 points. Junior Josh Flemming (LaPorte) scored six points.
The Red team, coached by former Riley coach Bob Berger, hit 62-111 shots, including 13-44 from deep. House and Torres each had 11 rebounds, while Cosey had 10 assists.
Devin Cannady, a sophomore guard from Mishawaka Marian, led the Gray team with 18 points. Junior Mack Mercer (Plymouth) scored 17, junior Zach Zurcher (NorthWood) 16 and junior Nate Richie (Northridge) 15 for the Gray squad. Senior Taron Miller (South Bend Clay) netted 13 points, while junior Jonathan Wilkinson (NorthWood) had 12 and senior Markese McGuire (Elkhart Memorial) and junior Richard Miller (Michigan City Marquette) 11 each. Senior Chris Mitchell (Mishawaka) added nine points.
The Gray team, coach by former Bremen, Elkhart Central and Penn coach Dean Foster, shot 52-123 from the field, including 15-53 from long range. Mercer led the team with 10 rebounds.
A grand total of six fouls were called in the contest, which began last year as the brainchild of area McDonald’s owners Dave and Kathleen Sparks and Bethel College men’s basketball coach Mike Lightfoot.
Demetrius Jackson, the former star guard for Mishawaka Marian, did not play in the contest due to his commitment to play in several other All-Star games. Players are only allowed to play in a certain number of postseason games. The Notre Dame recruit, who did attend the game, is a McDonald’s All-American nationally and a strong contender for Mr. Basketball honors.