Boys Basketball | Hot shooting fuels comeback as Sandburg tops Stagg in thriller

By Xavier Sanchez
Correspondent

Sandburg spends 45 minutes of every practice just shooting the ball, so with the team trailing Stagg by double-digits late in the rival programs’ latest matchup, Eagles coach John Daniels had no worries.

He told his shooters to “Just fire it.”

Ryan Tomczak sank a deep 3-pointer with 9.5 seconds left in the game to force overtime, and Paulius Mizeras scored the final five points of the extra session as Sandburg (12-11, 0-4 SouthWest Suburban Blue) completed a come-from-behind effort with an 82-78 victory over the Chargers on Jan. 23 in Orland Park.

Stagg (15-9, 2-1 SouthWest Suburban Red) led by 10 points with just under six minutes to play, but the the shooting of Tomczak (17 points) and David Vargas (game-high 21 points) drove the comeback. Mizeras had a monster game with 18 points, 10 rebounds, six assists and three steals.

Vargas, the Eagles’ top shooter, was unconcerned about the deficit they were facing.

“At practice, we shoot every day,” he said. “When you keep shooting and see the ball go in so much, you get confidence. And if you can make it from deep like both of us (Vargas and Tomczak) can, we are going to keep shooting.”

The two District 230 schools brought the intensity early on, often matching each other shot-for-shot. The first quarter ended tied at 15 and the game was stalemated at 28 at halftime. Neither team led by more than five points during the first half.

Sandburg players celebrate after Ryan Tomczak (11) hit a game-tying 3-pointer that forced overtime in the Eagles’ 82-78 overtime win over Stagg on Jan. 23. Photo by Xavier Sanchez

Sandburg’s Yanal Swaiss (14 points) scored on a tip-in as time expired to end the third quarter to pull the Eagles to within 49-46. Stagg responded with a 9-2 run to open the fourth quarter to take a 58-48 lead with 5:57 to go.

Daniels was comfortable with the game plan and abilities of his players to be make a game of it.

“They miss a couple, we hit a couple and we are right back into this game,” Daniels said.

Sandburg spent the final five minutes chipping away at Stagg’s lead. A Vargas 3-pointer with 2:15 in the fourth to get within four points and a Yanell Swaiss trey with 19.5 seconds remaining closed the gap to two at 69-67.

Chargers senior Connor Williams split two free throws after being fouled, leaving the door open for a game-tying shot. Tomczak made certain the opportunity was not wasted, sinking the loudest shot of the night to tie the game with under 10 ticks left.

“Right when it left my hand, I knew it was going in,” Tomczak said. “I started running back on defense. I knew it was going in.”

Stagg and Sandburg traded shots for the first couple of minutes of overtime. The Chargers took a 78-77 lead on a Williams’ 3-pointer but would fail to score again.

Stagg senior forward David Ortiz finished with 22 points on 8-for-13 shooting, including three 3-pointers.

Chargers coach Marty Strus has seen the growth of Ortiz over the years. Ortiz only wanted to shoot 3-pointers when he joined the varsity team as a sophomore in 2021, but has developed into a leader and a player willing to do as much as he can on the court.

Sandburg and Stagg players fight for a rebound during a game on Jan. 23. Photo by Xavier Sanchez

“He is very valuable to us when facing pressure, he is rebounding the ball on both ends, and willing to take tough, physical shots instead of settling for 3s,” Strus said. “Having said that, he is still our leading 3-point shooter.”

Williams added 13 points, eight rebounds and six assists for Stagg. Lebarion Gilmore and Domas Narcevicius scored 11 points each.

This loss extended Stagg’s losing streak to a season-worst four games.

“As a team, we are certainly going through a rough stretch right now, but these experiences will pay off,” Strus said.

Rivalry games are enjoyable for both the players and the coaches. Daniels stressed to his players to “enjoy the moment.”

“They work very hard for brief moments and memories,” he said. “They need to enjoy them.

“We had a lot of [fans]. Stagg had a lot of kids here and there was chirping all game. We had a lot of fun.”

Notes
• Sandburg and Stagg each made 32 field goals, of which 16 were 3-pointers. The Eagles made 11 free-throws to the Chargers’ seven.

• Sandburg split its other two games last week, losing to District 230 rival Andrew (67-48) and beating Argo (68-51).

• Stagg regrouped with wins over Lockport (52-38) on Jan. 26 and Bradley-Bourbonnais (90-64) on Jan. 27. The Boilermakers were coming off wins over Homewood-Flossmoor and Lincoln-Way East. Domas Narcevicius led the Chargers with 17 points in the win over the Porters, and dropped 28 points and hit a program-record eight 3-pointers against Bradley. David Ortiz had 18 points in the latter victory.

Sandburg’s Paulius Mizeras goes up for a shot against Stagg’s David Ortiz. Photo by Xavier Sanchez