DARLINGTON - It may be early in the season, but the Darlington offense is finding its groove already.
Twelve Redbirds found their way onto the scoreboard during Thursday's 77-37 shellacking of Riverdale in a SWAL Conference game.
"We have a lot of depth," Darlington head coach Mike Hopkins said. "Twelve players scored on Tuesday (against Highland), too."
Senior sharpshooter Alex Erickson scored a game-high 19 points but didn't attempt a shot in either the first or fourth quarter.
"I got into foul trouble, and coach will take you out if that happens," Erickson said. "But I got another chance and hit some shots. A lot of guys stepped up tonight. The more we distribute the tougher we will be."
Erickson hit his first two shots, including a turn-around jumper and a long 3-pointer from the left wing. Erickson finished the first half with seven points, but his backup, Brandon Hardyman, had 10.
"Part of our depth is our quality of guards," Hopkins said. "Even after Tucker and Alex we have Mitch Whalen and Brandon Hardyman and we feel we can put all four of them on the floor at the same time. We can go big and small."
Tucker Wiegel opened the game with a quick 3 and Derek Larson battled all night with Riverdale's 6-feet, 7-inch center, scoring 14 points.
"Derek stepped up his game. He stepped back and hit a couple of shots from the perimeter. That opens up our offense quite a bit when you have a big kid like him that can step outside," Hopkins said.
The 6-6 Larson is filling in for Zach Brown, also 6-6, who separated his shoulder prior to the final football game in November.
"It feels good to get my chance. Last year I kind of learned the ropes," Larson said.
Darlington led 19-8 after the first quarter and 38-23 at halftime. Late in the second quarter, Riverdale ripped off a 9-2 run to trim the Redbirds' lead. The Chieftains got to within 13 points at 40-27 just over a minute into the third quarter, but that's when Darlington turned on the 'D'.
Behind Larson and Erickson, the Redbirds went on a 14-0 run over the next three minutes and capped the third on a 22-2 run, allowing for the subs to get in.
"But we are nowhere near where we want to be. Fourteen of our 18 guys were on the football team and got kind of a late start to the basketball season. Their basketball legs just aren't there yet," Hopkins said. "Once we get Zach back too, we'll get even better."
Darlington (2-0, 1-0 SWAL) hits the road for the first time this season Tuesday at Boscobel.
Twelve Redbirds found their way onto the scoreboard during Thursday's 77-37 shellacking of Riverdale in a SWAL Conference game.
"We have a lot of depth," Darlington head coach Mike Hopkins said. "Twelve players scored on Tuesday (against Highland), too."
Senior sharpshooter Alex Erickson scored a game-high 19 points but didn't attempt a shot in either the first or fourth quarter.
"I got into foul trouble, and coach will take you out if that happens," Erickson said. "But I got another chance and hit some shots. A lot of guys stepped up tonight. The more we distribute the tougher we will be."
Erickson hit his first two shots, including a turn-around jumper and a long 3-pointer from the left wing. Erickson finished the first half with seven points, but his backup, Brandon Hardyman, had 10.
"Part of our depth is our quality of guards," Hopkins said. "Even after Tucker and Alex we have Mitch Whalen and Brandon Hardyman and we feel we can put all four of them on the floor at the same time. We can go big and small."
Tucker Wiegel opened the game with a quick 3 and Derek Larson battled all night with Riverdale's 6-feet, 7-inch center, scoring 14 points.
"Derek stepped up his game. He stepped back and hit a couple of shots from the perimeter. That opens up our offense quite a bit when you have a big kid like him that can step outside," Hopkins said.
The 6-6 Larson is filling in for Zach Brown, also 6-6, who separated his shoulder prior to the final football game in November.
"It feels good to get my chance. Last year I kind of learned the ropes," Larson said.
Darlington led 19-8 after the first quarter and 38-23 at halftime. Late in the second quarter, Riverdale ripped off a 9-2 run to trim the Redbirds' lead. The Chieftains got to within 13 points at 40-27 just over a minute into the third quarter, but that's when Darlington turned on the 'D'.
Behind Larson and Erickson, the Redbirds went on a 14-0 run over the next three minutes and capped the third on a 22-2 run, allowing for the subs to get in.
"But we are nowhere near where we want to be. Fourteen of our 18 guys were on the football team and got kind of a late start to the basketball season. Their basketball legs just aren't there yet," Hopkins said. "Once we get Zach back too, we'll get even better."
Darlington (2-0, 1-0 SWAL) hits the road for the first time this season Tuesday at Boscobel.
