SOUTH WAYNE — After suffering a two-point loss to Belleville the week previous, Darlington got back to its winning ways with a 66-36 victory over Black Hawk on Monday, Dec. 12.

“This was a good bounce back for us after dropping one to Belleville last week,” Darlington head coach Tom Uppena said. “We hadn’t been looking great in our first three games. Tonight, our intensity on defense was great. We got off to a hot start, and our kids played well.”

The Redbirds set a quick pace, pushing the ball up the court after grabbing defensive rebounds. Carver Fitzsimons and Will Murray broke to the basket on the fastbreaks, both fouled by Lucas Milz. Darlington took a 2-0 lead at the free throw line. 

Although Milz prevented easy transition baskets, his two early fouls forced head coach Trent Wyssbrod’s hand. As a prominent figure for the Warrior offense, Milz’ absence was felt in the first half.

“He’s a big part of our offense. When he’s not in there, we struggle,” Wyssbrod said. “He’s strong and handles the pressure better.”

Carter Baumgartner scored Black Hawk’s first points before Darlington went on a 18-0 run.

Brady Long scored back-to-back points for the Redbirds, his second bucket the result of miscommunication on the Warrior defense. Murray then sent the Darlington crowd into a frenzy with a fastbreak dunk.

With the two schools being just 20 miles apart, the gym was packed with fans for both teams.

“To play these games where everybody knows each other from a multitude of sports,” Uppena said. “It’s good to get that energy and crow back into after COVID years and not having a gym atmosphere for so long.”

Cannon Lancaster got in on the scoring with his own seven-point run. He made a jumper, drained a three and went 2-for-2 at the free throw line. 

Amidst the Darlington scoring, Jovanny Erickson provided some life for Black Hawk, as he took a charge from Levi Carter. Seth Dunlavey followed with a bucket, but a Warrior foul turned the tides again. Black Hawk had committed eight fouls in the first 10 minutes.

The eleventh foul of the half for the Warriors was a technical foul on Dunlavey, as he prevented Murray from dunking on a fastbreak. Murray went 2-for-2 from the line and the Redbirds got the ball back. 

Darlington ended the half on a 15-0 run, with six of those points coming at the charity stripe. Black Hawk committed 15 first-half fouls — one of them a technical — while also taking two charges.

Fitzsimons opened the second half with a bang, slamming it down for a dunk. With a bucket by Murray, the Redbirds had a 40-point lead.

Black Hawk answered with a bucket from Dunlavey and 3-pointer from Trae Hagen. Fitzsimons then committed his fourth foul, sending Dunlavey to the line. With two made free throws, the Warriors scored eight points in the first four minutes of the second half, whereas they had scored eight minutes in the entirety of the first half. 

“They went to man and that helped us a bit,” Wyssbrod said. “We struggled against the 1-3-1 with how tall they are.”

Dunlavey kept the momentum on the side of Black Hawk by taking a charge from Reagan Jackson. It was the Warriors’ third of the game.

Levi Carter stole the momentum right back, scoring the next seven points for Darlington. He made a bucket, rained down a three and went 2-for-2 at the free throw line.

With a 60-19 Darlington lead and 10 minutes left in the second half, the remainder of the game was played with a running clock.

Although Hagen provided the Warriors with some offense, the team faced a setback as Lane Marty picked up three quick fouls. His fifth occurred with 6:39 left on the clock, sending Carter to the line. 

In the next two minutes, Black Hawk scored eight unanswered points with 3-pointers from Milz and Eli Schliem. Erickson scored two points on an offensive rebound. Both teams then put in their substitutes to play the final four minutes.

Warrior freshman Jeremiah Collins converted a 3-point play at the free-throw line, as did Gabe Tree to end the game. 

Murray was the leading scorer for Darlington with 16 points, six of them from the free-throw line. Carter tallied 11 points with two 3-pointers. Fitzsimons was the third Redbird in double figures with 10 points.

Dunlavey led Black Hawk with 12 points, including six of the Warriors’ eight points in the first half. Hagen was the second highest scorer with six points.

RIVER RIDGE 54, BLACK HAWK 37

HANOVER — The Warriors suffered back-to-back losses, as they fell on the road to River Ridge on Tuesday, Dec. 13.

A slow start hurt Black Hawk once again, as the team scored just three points in the first quarter and 14 in the first half. Conversely, River Ridge scored 13 in the first quarter and 24 in the half.

The Warriors’ offense clicked in the second half, scoring 14 points in the third quarter and nine in the fourth. River Ridge kept pace, though, scoring ten in the third and 15 in the fourth.

Milz led with 11 points and two 3-pointers. Hagen chipped in nine, while Dunlavey had eight. George Winter scored 19 points for the Wildcats with eight of them at the free-throw line. Dylan Diehl tallied 11 points, and Jack Ketelsen had eight points with two 3-pointers.