DARLINGTON — Mineral Point switched from a zone to man defense. Then the Pointers added a press. Frustrations boiled over after a string of head-scratching whistles, which reached a comical level when Darlington coach Tom Uppena was called for a technical foul.
A nine-point Redbirds lead disintegrated in the closing minutes, and Mineral Point walked away with a 57-54 win after a bucket with 0.9 seconds left.
“We outplayed them for the majority of the game,” Uppena said. “It’s tough when you have a nine-point lead with five minutes left and you can’t close it out. It’s disappointing for sure. I feel bad for our guys, but in the end, we need to execute and take care of the ball and play our game.”
After taking an 11-2 run put the Redbirds ahead 49-40 with 5:15 left, Mineral Point dropped the zone defense. The Redbirds had just run off 95 seconds on one possession and widened their lead. Offensively, the Pointers attacked the rim, drawing multiple block/charge calls that fell into their favor each time. After a field goal and seven free throws in just 87 seconds of action, Mineral Point was back to within a point at 49-48.
We outplayed them for the majority of the game. It’s tough when you have a nine-point lead with five minutes left and you can’t close it out.Darlington coach Tom Uppena
“We shot ourselves in the foot,” Darlington senior Stryker Fitzsimons said. “We turned the ball over way too much. I blame it all on myself — I wasn’t in positions I needed to be. We’re just going to learn from it and move on.”
Fitzsimons drove baseline on his team’s next possession with less than 3:30 to play, and Mineral Point center Wes Berget blocked the shot while making contact. As Fitzsimons fell to the floor, Berget stood over him, bend down and yelled “Thank you!” Uppena took exception to the non-call on the shot, and was immediately T-ed up by the nearest referee, who let the apparent taunting by Berget go without issue.
Mineral Point senior guard Isaac Lindsey hit just one of the ensuing two free throws and the Pointers failed to score again on the possession, but the damage was done, and the momentum shifted.
The two ranked teams in Division 4 traded points over the final minutes, and Fitzsimons would hit a pair of free throws to tie it at 54 with 22.9 seconds left. The Pointers (15-5) held for the final shot, and Lindsey, the team’s leading scorer, looked inside to find Garrett Wendhausen underneath for an open layup. Darlington sophomore Carter Lancaster fouled Wendhausen on the shot, which came with 0.9 seconds remaining.
“I think everyone was focused on Isaac to take the big shot and Garrett got open and made the shot,” Lancaster said.
Darlington (18-2) couldn’t get a final heave away clean and the final horn blew.
“They put on that press and we just were throwing the ball away and giving them chances to score. They capitalized on it,” Lancaster said. “I think the pressure got to us at the end of the game — we were trying to rush to get into our half-court sets.”
To open the game Mineral Point ran the same press defense, and it befuddled the Redbirds for a while early on. The Pointers led 17-12 midway through the first half, but Fitzsimons began taking charge on the press and Darlington was consistently finding points in transition. By halftime, the Redbirds led 24-23.
They put on that press and we just were throwing the ball away and giving them chances to score. They capitalized on it.Darlington sophomore Carter Lancaster
“I thought once we settled down a little bit and started finding the holes in the zone, our game started coming to fruition,” Uppena said. “And I thought we continued it into the second half and continued to get the good shots that we wanted.”
Lancaster and Matthew Douglas each buried corner 3s that got the crowd buzzing to open the second half, and Lancaster added to the fire with hustle plays and strong baskets.
The Redbirds led by nine twice in the half before collapsing.
Berget finished with 15 points, while Lindsey led Mineral Point with 16. Wendhausen had 13. Fitzsimons led Darlington with 17 points, while Lancaster had 16 and Douglas seven.
Already guaranteed a share of the SWAL title, the Redbirds will soon set their sights on the postseason.
“We can’t shut down now. We know we can beat anybody in the state. We know that we can beat anybody on any given night, and we know we can lose on any given night,” Fitzsimons said. “This is a good learning experience for everybody. We need to stay locked into a game or we’ll let it slip away to a really good team.”
