By Randy Whalen
Correspondent
Sandburg coach John Daniels doesn’t have to give to his team what he refers to as the “let’s play hard” speech.
The Eagles play hard. But as Daniels acknowledged after a 53-43 loss at Lockport on Jan. 17, they “have to play better.”
David Vargas led Sandburg (9-14, 0-3 entering this week) with 15 points, all on 3-pointers. Fellow junior guard Paulius Mizeras had nine points and six boards, and senior guard Om Shukla contributed six points on a pair of 3-pointers. James Prendergast had four points and six rebounds.
Lockport junior guard Jalen Falcon finished with a game-high 19 points and added six rebounds, and senior guard Adam Labuda scored 17 points and grabbed five boards.
Sandburg had a 30-29 rebounding advantage but committed 19 turnovers, with seven of those coming in the fourth quarter. The Porters had nine turnovers.
“We all push each other and play together now,” Vargas said of the Eagles’ improvement since last season. “That’s the difference. But we have to take care of the ball better.”
Sandburg’s nine wins entering his week are two more than last season’s team that went 7-24.
“We’re getting better,” Daniels said. “We have to be stronger with the ball, but we play hard and are building something here. We just have to make some adjustments for the next time that we play Lockport.
That will be Friday, Feb. 3 in Orland Park. Sandburg’s next chance to get its first SouthWest Suburban Blue win of the season will be Jan. 27 at Bolingbrook. The Eagles face Lincoln-Way East for the second time this season Jan. 31 in Frankfort.
Vargas was named one of Sandburg’s Athletes of the Week the week of Jan. 9, during which he averaged 20 points in a trio of games, including a 47-33 victory over Joliet Central and a 63-52 win over Bremen.
“That was nice, but it’s a credit to my teammates,” Vargas said of his Player of the Week award. “They put me in position to get it.”
The Eagles followed the setback to the Porters with a 61-50 win at home over St. Francis De Sales the following night. Prendergast led Sandburg with 19 points and 14 rebounds, while Vargas added 17 points and Mizeras contributed 10 points and eight assists.
Homewood-Flossmoor topped the Eagles, 77-68, in a SouthWest Suburban Blue matchup. Mizeras had 16 points, and Vargas and junior guard Yanal Ssaiss both scored 15.
H-F (14-8, 1-1), which beat Bloom 70-69 in overtime the next day for its sixth win in seven games, was paced by senior power forward Vince Davis (21 points) and sophomore guard Jayden Tyler (19 points).