DARLINGTON - Foul trouble hurt the Darlington boys basketball team late in their effort to knock off Iowa-Grant, as the Redbirds fell 62-56 to the Panthers in overtime.
Darlington led 27-20 at halftime and maintained that 7 point lead entering the fourth. Iowa-Grant scored 19 in the fourth to force overtime and outscored the Redbirds 13-7 in the extra period.
"We didn't have a great third quarter," said Darlington coach Mike Hopkins. "It was an even 10-10. Defensively, we played alright in that quarter. If we hold them to 10, at the varsity level, we should be scoring 18 or 20 points. We had a chance to get a double digit lead and we didn't do that.
"They had a 6-foot-8 kid and a 6-foot-5 kid. Both our starting post players got in foul trouble in the first half. In the second half, we were trying to play 'D' without them because they both had four fouls. We kept fouling and putting people on the line."
Cole McDonald was the leading scorer for the Redbirds, with 24 points. Cody Hardyman added 10 for Darlington, and Michael Ruf contributed 9.
"McDonald's our leading scorer," said Hopkins. "He actually put us ahead by a point with about 13 seconds left. We fouled (Iowa-Grant's Colin) Connor and he made one of two free throws to take it to overtime."
Darlington is now 6-13 overall and 4-7 in the SWAL. The Redbirds will take on Southwestern Thursday, hoping to avenge a 50-40 loss to the Wildcats back on Jan. 8.
Darlington led 27-20 at halftime and maintained that 7 point lead entering the fourth. Iowa-Grant scored 19 in the fourth to force overtime and outscored the Redbirds 13-7 in the extra period.
"We didn't have a great third quarter," said Darlington coach Mike Hopkins. "It was an even 10-10. Defensively, we played alright in that quarter. If we hold them to 10, at the varsity level, we should be scoring 18 or 20 points. We had a chance to get a double digit lead and we didn't do that.
"They had a 6-foot-8 kid and a 6-foot-5 kid. Both our starting post players got in foul trouble in the first half. In the second half, we were trying to play 'D' without them because they both had four fouls. We kept fouling and putting people on the line."
Cole McDonald was the leading scorer for the Redbirds, with 24 points. Cody Hardyman added 10 for Darlington, and Michael Ruf contributed 9.
"McDonald's our leading scorer," said Hopkins. "He actually put us ahead by a point with about 13 seconds left. We fouled (Iowa-Grant's Colin) Connor and he made one of two free throws to take it to overtime."
Darlington is now 6-13 overall and 4-7 in the SWAL. The Redbirds will take on Southwestern Thursday, hoping to avenge a 50-40 loss to the Wildcats back on Jan. 8.
