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Boys Basketball: Sandburg bounces back to edge Homewood-Flossmoor
Updated: February 18, 2012 12:01AM
What a difference 72 hours made for Sandburg.
The Eagles couldn’t mask their disappointment after Tuesday’s 53-43 loss to archrival Andrew.
On Friday night, Sandburg couldn’t contain its glee after upending No. 22 Homewood-Flossmoor 45-44 in SouthWest Suburban Blue play in Flossmoor.
The victory marked the first time the Eagles (13-10, 8-4) have defeated H-F during Sandburg coach Todd Allen’s seven-year tenure.
“Finally!” Allen said after the come-from-behind win that spoiled the Vikings’ Senior Night. “After the Andrew game, we had our best two practices of the year. Our guys didn’t hang their heads. They pushed each other. All 14 guys. This was a team win.”
Maybe so, but there’s no doubt Brian Dace did the majority of the heavy lifting. The senior scored 16 of his game-high 23 points in the first half, allowing Sandburg to enjoy a 24-17 lead at intermission.
“I honestly couldn’t tell you,” Dace said when asked what sparked the huge performance. “It’s the greatest feeling in the world to beat them. We played our hearts out.”
H-F produced its Houdini impression in the third quarter and made Sandburg’s seven-point lead disappear in a matter of 5:06, compliments of a 12-3 run. Tyrone Sherman buried a three-pointer — his lone field goal of the night — and Delvon Rencher (10 points) converted a three-point play to trim the gap to 27-26.
A basket by Ricky Bullock and free throws by Rencher gave H-F a 29-27 lead. The Vikings would carry a 34-31 edge into the fourth quarter.
“I told the kids at the half, ‘H-F is going to make a run,’ ” Allen said. “We’re on their floor, on their Senior Night. The key was for us was to keep our composure.”
When Tim Williams (18 points) buried a three to increase the lead to 37-31, it looked like H-F was ready to put the Eagles away.
The knockout blow, however, never arrived.
Malek Harris converted two free throws for his first points of the night to tie the game at 37 with 5:01 to go. Dace would come through with a hoop at the 2:11 mark that gave the Eagles a 41-39 lead, a lead they held for good.
H-F (17-7, 10-2) had a chance to tie the game with 27.5 seconds left, but Sherman, after hitting a first free throw to cut the deficit to 45-44, badly missed his second.
The Vikings would have a chance to win the game in the final seconds, but Harris blocked a baseline jumper by Rencher to preserve the win. H-F was just 14-of-46 from the field and 12-of-22 from the free-throw line.
Nick Lehnerer, Ken Payonk and Joe Kuligoski contributed key buckets in the pivotal fourth quarter for Sandburg.
“We didn’t play hard for 32 minutes,” H-F coach Jim McLaughlin said. “When you don’t play harder than your opponent, this is what happens.”
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