DODGEVILLE — The Darlington Redbirds came into their Division 4 sectional semifinal game at Dodgeville against the Cambridge Blue Jays on Thursday, March 12 with a chance to advance to the sectional championship and play for a trip to the state basketball tournament for the first time since 2016.
The Cambridge Blue Jays were playing for the very same thing…and got it.
The Blue Jays upended the Redbirds 64-56 to reach the sectional championship and face the Lomira Lions with the winner making a trip to the Division 4 state basketball tournament.
The Redbirds (23-4) got off to an 8-2 start behind threes by senior Broker Buschor and senior Grady O’Brien and a basket by junior Zeke Zuberbuhler. Cambridge (18-9) surged ahead 18-10 before Buschor nailed back-to-back threes and Zuberbuhler converted a three-point play to go ahead 19-18 with 7:25 left in the half.
With the Redbirds leading 21-20, Zuberbuhler connected on a three-pointer and made a layup to put Darlington in front 26-20. Cambridge came right back as junior J’Kari Crawford hit two free throws and scored a basket to make the score 26-24. Neither team scored until Crawford got the ball in the final seconds of the half, drove the left side of the lane and missed a runner, but got his own rebound and put it back in just before the buzzer to tie the game at 26-26 at halftime.
The second half began with alternating baskets by senior Jett Horton, sophomore Evan Harbort and sophomore Ian Nelles of Cambridge and sophomore Ryder Fitzsimons and Zuberbuhler of Darlington. That gave Cambridge a 32-30 lead, but Zuberbuhler drained a three to send the Redbirds in front 33-32 with 15:28 to play. Glendenning’s three-point play was followed by a steal and a fast-break basket by Zuberbuhler, giving the Birds a four point cushion at 38-34. Senior Cal Nottestad sank a three and
Nelles made two free throws to put the Blue Jays ahead 39-38 with 11:39 left in the game.
Right after that, Zuberbuhler scored and was fouled and completed a three-point play with 11:27 remaining to put Darlington back in front 41-39. With 10:21 left in the game, Zuberbuhler got another steal and layup to put the Birds back on top 43-42, but Crawford countered with a three to get a two point lead for Cambridge at 45-43 with 7:07 left on the clock. Glendenning’s putback off a miss tied the game at 45-45 with 6:23 to play. The Blue Jays followed with six straight points on layups by Crawford, senior Jett Horton, and Nottestad to take a 51-45 lead. Baskets by Zuberbuhler and Fitzsimons whittled the deficit to 51-49 with 3:05 to go.
Nelles got a bucket with 2:40 left to open a 53-49 lead for Cambridge. That’s when Darlington put on a press and got a steal by Zuberbuhler, who was fouled and went to the free throw line for two shots. Zuberbuhler missed the first free throw, but made the second and the Redbirds trailed 53-50 with 2:25 to go. Crawford was fouled and made two free throws to set Cambridge with a 55-50 lead with 2:15 left in the game. Seconds later, Zuberbuhler was fouled and made two free throws to make the score 55-52. On the next possession, the Birds forced a held ball and got possession with 2:08 remaining, but O’Brien missed a shot and Cambridge got the rebound with 1:30 left. Brown was fouled and made the first of two free throws to give the Blue Jays a 56-52 lead. Brown missed the second free throw but got the offensive rebound and scored a layup putting Cambridge in front 58-52.
Glendenning missed a shot on the next possession and Brown got the rebound and was fouled with 1:03 left. Brown made 1 of 2 free throws to give Cambridge a 59-52 lead. Fitzsimons was fouled in the act of shooting and made two free throws with 58.5 seconds left and Darlington behind 59-54. The Redbirds were unable to catch up as the Blue Jays made five of six free throws in the final minute to come up with a 64-56 win. Zuberbuhler scored a career-high 29 points to lead Darlington. Buschor scored 11 points, which was five points below his average, and collected 12 rebounds.
Crawford was the top scorer for the Blue Jays with 18 points.
“They were the better team tonight. We were probably the better team all season, it’s just that on this given night, we just didn’t have it,” Darlington coach Tom Uppena said. “It’s a hard pill to swallow, but that’s a good team. They came after it tonight. They got in our shorts and made us uncomfortable and if you want to advance at this stage, you can’t have those kind of nights like we had tonight.”
Darlington finished the season 23-4 and were SWAL Conference champions and Division 4 regional champions. It was the last game for seniors Paxton Paisley, Cagyn Paisley, Grady O’Brien, Michael Larson, Broker Buschor, Emanuel Arriaga, and Oscar Garnica. After the game, Uppena fondly looked back at the careers of the seven seniors on his team.
“A great group. I loved coming to practice and working with those guys. But, as good as they are on the court, they are better humans off the court. They’re great kids, they’re great people and I’m proud to have coached them this year,” Uppena said.
Cambridge went on to upset Lomira 58-56 in the sectional championship game on Saturday, March 14 to advance to the Division 4 state tournament.
