Schools
Boys Basketball: H-F Rides Hot Hand of Surles Past Sandburg
Homewood-Flossmoor 52, Sandburg 36: Rashaan Surles made four 3-pointers and scored 18 points as the Vikings throttled the Eagles in Orland Park on Friday night.
The Skinny: Two starters sat out and a third—Rashaan Surles—came off the bench two-thirds of the way through the first quarter in Homewood-Flossmoor’s 52-36 boys basketball victory over Sandburg on Friday night in Orland Park.
And when Surles came off the bench, he brought instant firepower to the Vikings’ attack. He poured in four 3-pointers and scored 18 points to lead an H-F team that experimented with some new rotations in the absence of Lamar Wofford-Humphery (season-ending ankle injury) and Thaddeus Little (dislocated toe).
Tai Odiase added 11 points as H-F built leads of 7-0 and 21-4 in the early going on Senior Night at Sandburg. The Eagle faithful observed a moment of silence before the opening tip-off in memory of the late-Bruce Scheidegger, the Sandburg athletic director killed in an auto accident about a week ago.
Find out what's happening in Homewood-Flossmoorwith free, real-time updates from Patch.
Malek Harris scored 18 points and grabbed a game-high 12 rebounds for the Eagles.
Patch’s MVP: Rashaan Surles, 6-4, senior, guard, Homewood-Flossmoor. He made 7-of-10 shots, including four 3-pointers, and scored 18 points. Two of his 3-balls came from way behind the arc as a flashed a shooting range that will serve him well at Texas A&M Prairie View next season.
Find out what's happening in Homewood-Flossmoorwith free, real-time updates from Patch.
Key Moments: H-F’s Ricky Bullock scored all seven of his points in the first quarter as the Vikings jumped out to leads of 7-0 and 16-4. Jason Scott guarded Sandburg’s Malek Harris and limited him to two points on 1-of-3 shooting in the first quarter.
Homewood-Flossmoor’s Leaders: Rashaan Surles (18 points, four 3-pointers, 6 rebounds), Tai Odiase (11 points, 4 rebounds), Ricky Bullock (7 points, all in the first quarter), Marcus Willis (6 points, 6 rebounds), Maurius Hill (6 points, 5 rebounds).
Sandburg Leaders: Malek Harris (18 points, 12 rebounds), Alec Martinez (4 points), Niko Cahue (7 points), Eric Straka (5 points, all in the fourth quarter).
Quotable I: “We want to get ready for the playoffs, and we’ve got to go one game at a time,” H-F’s Rashaan Surles said. “So, each game that we play, we want to try to work on something that we need to improve. Tonight, with Lamar (Wofford-Humphrey) going down, we wanted to see how we could box out and rebound without one of our key rebounders being in play.”
Quotable II: “A lot of things this week made it for out-of-the-ordinary circumstances,” Sandburg coach Todd Allen said. “It was an emotionally difficult week for everybody. Then, you throw Senior Night on top of that—kind of a celebration night, but then kind of a somber night, too, because Bruce (Scheidegger) has been at all of our home games for five years. So, it was a difficult night in that respect. It was great to see his family here, though.”
Quotable III: “It was a disciplinary thing,” H-F’s Rashaan Surles said of why he came off the bench. “It got in trouble in school. It won’t happen again.”
Quotable IV: “My mom actually got me these,” H-F’s Rashaan Surles said of his bright orange gym shoes. “Because I hit a clutch shot vs. Hillcrest. This is like my congratulations gift, I guess. My mom’s favorite color is orange. So, that’s probably why.”
Quotable V: “Yeah, we had a new rotation, but that’s why they call it a basketball team,” Homewood-Flossmoor coach Jim McLaughlin said. “It’s not an individual sport. We have 15 guys on the roster. When you get a couple guys banged up, it gives the opportunity for some others to step up. I think, first of all, you’ve got to start with Jason Scott. I’ve got to give him credit for what he did with Malek (Harris). He was all over him from the get-go.”
Team Records: H-F is 19-5 overall and 11-1 in the Southwest Suburban Blue. Sandburg is 7-16 and 5-7.
What’s Next: Both teams play on Tuesday, Feb. 19. Lincoln-Way Central at Homewood-Flossmoor. Tip-off is at 7 p.m. Sandburg is at Joliet West. Game time is 6:30 p.m.
Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.