DARLINGTON - The cheering for Darlington senior Kent Miehe started well before the tip-off against rival Mineral Point on Tuesday night.
The Darlington boys cross country team that won a Division 3 state championship was honored before the basketball game. That set the tone for Darlington, which hung on to knock off the Pointers, 64-57.
"It was a big deal," Darlington senior Brandon Hardyman said. "I have some friends on the team, including Kent. It was a great way to come out and get the crowd pumped up."
There was a lot to cheer about early on as the Redbirds enjoyed a 16-3 first-quarter run fueled by a 1-2-2 press. The Pointers committed four turnovers in the first 2 minutes, 30 seconds.
The Redbirds were red hot, shooting 10-for-13 in the first quarter, when they led by as many as 15 points. Darlington senior Cedric Flesher, who scored a game-high 16 points, had eight in the first quarter.
"At practice, we knew we had to penetrate their zone," Flesher said. "I tried to do that as much as I could. All together it was a complete team effort."
The Redbirds had four players in double figures. In addition to Flesher, Hardyman scored 15 points, Miehe had 13 and senior Mitchell Whalen added 12. The Redbirds had 14 offensive rebounds that proved pivotal in a close game.
"We had some second chance scoring opportunities," Flesher said. "It really gets them down. It sucks the energy out of them."
Darlington (10-5, 6-3 SWAL) has won four straight games.
"As coaches we are not totally satisfied," Darlington's Mike Hopkins said. "We have played really well since giving up a 10-point lead at Southwestern. Sometimes bad things have to happen in order to turn things around. That is exactly what has happened."
It was a complete reversal of fortunes for the Redbirds in the second quarter. The Pointers went on an 18-6 run sparked by 6 foot, 5 inch senior Austin Steffes, who scored several times down low.
"In the first time we played them we didn't play that press," Hopkins said. "We wanted to do something different. I didn't anticipate playing that the entire game. We had so much success in the first quarter we stuck with it."
Whalen came up with a steal and scored on a layup midway through the third quarter to give the Redbirds a 40-32 lead. The Pointers answered with Steffes scoring down low and Dakota Poad drilled a 3-pointer to slice the Redbirds' lead to 46-44. Hardyman was fouled shooting a 3-pointer and made 2 of 3 free throws at the end of the third quarter to give the Redbirds a 48-44 lead.
Miehe had the hot hand in the fourth quarter, when he scored seven points. Darlington senior Jake Martin and Miehe each knocked down 3-pointers midway through the fourth quarter to push the Redbirds' lead to 56-46.
Poad hit an off-balance jumper to cut the Redbirds' lead to 60-54 with 1:18 left, but that is as close as Mineral Point would get. Poad and Steffes each scored 14 points to lead the Pointers.
Hopkins said the win for the Redbirds could be key come time for tournament seeding.
"Mineral Point has five losses and we have five losses," Hopkins said. "We can make the argument (about getting a higher seed) now. We had to win tonight to get a split to be able to do that and we did."
The Darlington boys cross country team that won a Division 3 state championship was honored before the basketball game. That set the tone for Darlington, which hung on to knock off the Pointers, 64-57.
"It was a big deal," Darlington senior Brandon Hardyman said. "I have some friends on the team, including Kent. It was a great way to come out and get the crowd pumped up."
There was a lot to cheer about early on as the Redbirds enjoyed a 16-3 first-quarter run fueled by a 1-2-2 press. The Pointers committed four turnovers in the first 2 minutes, 30 seconds.
The Redbirds were red hot, shooting 10-for-13 in the first quarter, when they led by as many as 15 points. Darlington senior Cedric Flesher, who scored a game-high 16 points, had eight in the first quarter.
"At practice, we knew we had to penetrate their zone," Flesher said. "I tried to do that as much as I could. All together it was a complete team effort."
The Redbirds had four players in double figures. In addition to Flesher, Hardyman scored 15 points, Miehe had 13 and senior Mitchell Whalen added 12. The Redbirds had 14 offensive rebounds that proved pivotal in a close game.
"We had some second chance scoring opportunities," Flesher said. "It really gets them down. It sucks the energy out of them."
Darlington (10-5, 6-3 SWAL) has won four straight games.
"As coaches we are not totally satisfied," Darlington's Mike Hopkins said. "We have played really well since giving up a 10-point lead at Southwestern. Sometimes bad things have to happen in order to turn things around. That is exactly what has happened."
It was a complete reversal of fortunes for the Redbirds in the second quarter. The Pointers went on an 18-6 run sparked by 6 foot, 5 inch senior Austin Steffes, who scored several times down low.
"In the first time we played them we didn't play that press," Hopkins said. "We wanted to do something different. I didn't anticipate playing that the entire game. We had so much success in the first quarter we stuck with it."
Whalen came up with a steal and scored on a layup midway through the third quarter to give the Redbirds a 40-32 lead. The Pointers answered with Steffes scoring down low and Dakota Poad drilled a 3-pointer to slice the Redbirds' lead to 46-44. Hardyman was fouled shooting a 3-pointer and made 2 of 3 free throws at the end of the third quarter to give the Redbirds a 48-44 lead.
Miehe had the hot hand in the fourth quarter, when he scored seven points. Darlington senior Jake Martin and Miehe each knocked down 3-pointers midway through the fourth quarter to push the Redbirds' lead to 56-46.
Poad hit an off-balance jumper to cut the Redbirds' lead to 60-54 with 1:18 left, but that is as close as Mineral Point would get. Poad and Steffes each scored 14 points to lead the Pointers.
Hopkins said the win for the Redbirds could be key come time for tournament seeding.
"Mineral Point has five losses and we have five losses," Hopkins said. "We can make the argument (about getting a higher seed) now. We had to win tonight to get a split to be able to do that and we did."
