February 8, 2015

CHICAGO – After a back-and-forth first half in which the Chicago Force led the Bloomington Flex by as many as seven points, the hosts had to feel good about themselves at halftime, even though they found themselves trailing by nine.

                    That feeling was short-lived, as the Flex exploded out of the locker room on a 13-3 run to blow the game open en route to a 119-100 victory at the Kroc Center Sunday evening, upping their record to 6-1.

                    The teams traded the lead early on, with Chicago going up 12-7 in the first quarter before a timeout by Flex coach Carlnel Wiley stopped the bleeding.  Bloomington clawed back to tie it with 2:17 remaining in the period, but the Force again opened up a four-point edge early in the second.

                    Chicago held its final lead at about the 9:00 mark of the second at 31-30.  Force coach Rick Pryor called timeout when the Flex went back up 34-31, but a Fabyon Harris three-pointer gave the Flex a six-point lead at 37-31, and Bloomington never looked back.

                    Justin Bocot and C.J. Hampton led the big surge in the third as the Flex outscored Chicago 42-26 to take a 98-73 lead heading into the fourth. 

                    “That was our best third quarter of the season,” said Wiley.  “At halftime, we didn’t make any adjustments.  I told them to calm down and play Flex basketball, and we would be fine.  I’m confident in our ability to lock down and defend when we need to.” 

                    Bocot finished with 30 points, his fourth 30-point effort this season.  Hampton added 20 as they led seven Flex players in double figures.  Matt Salley tallied a double-double with 14 points and ten rebounds.  Terrence Green blocked five shots.

                    The Force were again led by Derrick McDonald, who earned his fifth straight 20-10 outing with 23 points and 11 rebounds.  Antoine Ware added a season-high 20 points on 9-of-10 shooting from the field. Tremell Adams added 17 for Chicago, which fell to 2-5.

                    The Force are off until February 15, when they resume the Crosstown Showdown with the Windy CIty Groove. The Flex, meanwhile, are back home for the first time in nearly a month as they host the 6-1 Champaign Swarm at U.S. Cellular Coliseum on Thursday. 

                    The Flex won the first meeting with the Swarm 102-81 in Champaign on January 29.