DARLINGTON - Sometimes even the best shooters go cold for a night.
On Tuesday, Darlington's entire team, including sharp-shooting senior Alex Erickson, found more iron than nylon in what was the biggest game of the season to date.
"They took us out of our rhythm. We were out of sync," Redbirds coach Mike Hopkins said after the Redbirds' 45-35 loss to arch rival Cuba City. "It was a matter of lack of execution on our part compared to better execution that Cuba had."
Darlington as a team shot just 14 of 52 (26.9 percent) from the field, and was just 2 of 6 from the free-throw line. The Cubans weren't much better from the field, finishing 14 of 41 from the field (34.1 percent), but hit 12 of 16 shots from the charity stripe. Cuba City hit its last nine free throws, all coming in the final 1 minute, 17 seconds of the game.
"They play good team 'D'," Erickson said. "The credit goes to them (Cuba City). They hit their shots, they played good defense and they got the 'W'. We've just got to hit shots. The looks were there, we just have to knock them down."
Neither team could gain momentum throughout the contest. Darlington led just 6-4 after the first quarter and gained the first real stretch of momentum midway through the second. Brandon Hardyman hit a 3-pointer at the 6:28 mark in the second, Zach Brown had a drive to the hoop and a putback and Brian Reichling hit a rattling jumper to give Darlington a 9-0 run.
"I was pretty pumped," said Brown, who scored 12 points to lead Darlington. "I was trying to come out here and play my best to help our team get a win. I was shaking when I got out on the court because it was a big crowd and a lot of excitement."
That short streak put the Redbirds up 15-8 at that point. But the Cubans came back, outscoring Darlington 11-2 in the final 3:11 of the half.
Erickson, who scored just 10 points in the game (under half of his average), had just two points in the first half, but made it 5 overall seconds into the third when he drained a 3. Darlington worked itself back into the lead and held a 28-25 advantage headed into the fourth.
"We need the ball to go inside. I don't think we had a true post-entry in the first half," Hopkins said. "We've got to be a little more balanced inside and out."
But Cuba City owned the fourth, holding the Redbirds scoreless until the 2:29 mark. By that point, the Cubans held a 34-28 lead and Darlington was forced to foul in order to change possession. Fouling meant free throws, and free throws meant easy points.
"Like any team in that situation, you want either a quick open three or drive to get in the bonus. We forced some shots," Hopkins said. "We're not going to blame ourselves and we're not going to blame others. We've got to take ownership with a loss like we would in a win."
Cuba City (11-1, 7-0), ranked No. 6 Associated press/No. 9 WisSports.net Coaches Poll, now takes control of the SWAL Conference, while Darlington (11-2, 5-1, No. 7 AP/No. 8 WisSports.net) falls into second place.
"After you lose to a team you want to get back there and play them again," Erickson said. "We're going to try to win all of games from here on out and get back to Cuba and get a 'W'."
The two teams meet up one last time in the last game of the regular season Feb. 24.
On Tuesday, Darlington's entire team, including sharp-shooting senior Alex Erickson, found more iron than nylon in what was the biggest game of the season to date.
"They took us out of our rhythm. We were out of sync," Redbirds coach Mike Hopkins said after the Redbirds' 45-35 loss to arch rival Cuba City. "It was a matter of lack of execution on our part compared to better execution that Cuba had."
Darlington as a team shot just 14 of 52 (26.9 percent) from the field, and was just 2 of 6 from the free-throw line. The Cubans weren't much better from the field, finishing 14 of 41 from the field (34.1 percent), but hit 12 of 16 shots from the charity stripe. Cuba City hit its last nine free throws, all coming in the final 1 minute, 17 seconds of the game.
"They play good team 'D'," Erickson said. "The credit goes to them (Cuba City). They hit their shots, they played good defense and they got the 'W'. We've just got to hit shots. The looks were there, we just have to knock them down."
Neither team could gain momentum throughout the contest. Darlington led just 6-4 after the first quarter and gained the first real stretch of momentum midway through the second. Brandon Hardyman hit a 3-pointer at the 6:28 mark in the second, Zach Brown had a drive to the hoop and a putback and Brian Reichling hit a rattling jumper to give Darlington a 9-0 run.
"I was pretty pumped," said Brown, who scored 12 points to lead Darlington. "I was trying to come out here and play my best to help our team get a win. I was shaking when I got out on the court because it was a big crowd and a lot of excitement."
That short streak put the Redbirds up 15-8 at that point. But the Cubans came back, outscoring Darlington 11-2 in the final 3:11 of the half.
Erickson, who scored just 10 points in the game (under half of his average), had just two points in the first half, but made it 5 overall seconds into the third when he drained a 3. Darlington worked itself back into the lead and held a 28-25 advantage headed into the fourth.
"We need the ball to go inside. I don't think we had a true post-entry in the first half," Hopkins said. "We've got to be a little more balanced inside and out."
But Cuba City owned the fourth, holding the Redbirds scoreless until the 2:29 mark. By that point, the Cubans held a 34-28 lead and Darlington was forced to foul in order to change possession. Fouling meant free throws, and free throws meant easy points.
"Like any team in that situation, you want either a quick open three or drive to get in the bonus. We forced some shots," Hopkins said. "We're not going to blame ourselves and we're not going to blame others. We've got to take ownership with a loss like we would in a win."
Cuba City (11-1, 7-0), ranked No. 6 Associated press/No. 9 WisSports.net Coaches Poll, now takes control of the SWAL Conference, while Darlington (11-2, 5-1, No. 7 AP/No. 8 WisSports.net) falls into second place.
"After you lose to a team you want to get back there and play them again," Erickson said. "We're going to try to win all of games from here on out and get back to Cuba and get a 'W'."
The two teams meet up one last time in the last game of the regular season Feb. 24.
