CUBA CITY — The Redbirds varsity boys’ basketball kicked off conference play with a dominating second half, besting the Cubans on the road Dec. 7, 89-65.

No. 1-ranked Darlington (4-0, 1-0 SWAL) opened the matchup trading blows with Cuba City (1-2, 0-1). The Cubans nearly equaled the Redbirds’ intensity, scoring all 21 of its opening points from outside the arc.

“I think that our kids battled and did the dirty work in the first half to keep us in the game,” Cuban head coach Tanner Schieve said, who took over for Wisconsin’s winningest coach Jerry Petitgoue. “It also helps that we shot 51% from three in the first half.”

Reagan Jackson was one of three Darlington players to eclipse the 10-point mark, and he tallied the first field goal of the night for the Redbirds as they overcame tough full-court defense from Cuba City.

Miles Hinderman kept the Cubans one step ahead early with a second-consecutive 3-point blast.

Brady Long got involved in Darlington’s next score 40 seconds later, popping an inbounds pass out to Will Murray for a 3-point shot. The score kept the Cuba City advantage to a slim 6-5 lead.

The first lead change of the night came as a result of a Long defensive rebound. He rushed down the court, and threaded a chest pass to Carter Murray along the elbow. Carter Murray’s shot under the hoop didn’t find its mark, but Will Murray was there to collect the rebound and hop back up for the close two at 15:08.

Hinderman stayed red hot for the Cubans, hitting another 3-pointer to put Cuba City ahead again, 9-7.

Will Murray went to the line for two shots, and made both to tie the game at 13:45.

Foul trouble kept the Redbirds shooting free throws as Long had an opportunity for two more free throws 45 seconds later, and he made both.

Tyson Richard was the next scorer for the Cubans, and his shot from beyond the arc put Cuba City ahead by a point again at a 12-11 split.

The Cubans employed a full-court press once more, and this time it bit them hard.

Broker Buschor was on the end result of three quick passes, and his shot rang true for three points.

Darlington grabbed the biggest lead of the night as Taggart Gille made his only attempt of the night for three points, putting the Redbirds up, 17-12. 

Trevor VanNatta kept the game close with Cuba City’s fifth-consecutive 3-point shot of the night, but Darlington kept the lead firmly in hand.

Clever transitioning gave Long time to get open under the hoop, and Will Murray found him for the two. He was so confident Long’s shot would fall that he turned to run down-court before the basket went through the hoop.

Will Murray was on the scoring end of a shot with another 20 seconds knocked off the clock, spinning in the paint, and putting the ball in the hoop no further than eight feet out.

The Cubans responded quickly, with Hinderman hitting another 3-pointer ahead of a Cuba City timeout at 9:48.

Dante Glendenning then scored on a contested look in the paint, putting the Redbirds ahead, 23-18.

Another Richard 3-pointer kept the Cubans in step with Darlington through the 8:30 mark.

A shooting foul from Cuba City attempting to slow down the Redbird fast break offense sent Jackson to the line, where he made the second of two shots.

Richard sank his third 3-pointer of the night to tie the game at 24 points, but Buschor marched down the court for an open three without any help from the backboard. 

Darlington closed the half keeping the Cubans in its rear-view mirror with a narrow 38-36 advantage. 

“At half I reminded [the boys] that Cuba City came out hot hitting nine first half three’s and they played with a lot of energy,” Redbird head coach Tom Uppena said. “We would be seeing that all year long with the position we are in so we can’t panic, and need to trust in our abilities. The Cubans weren’t going to be able to sustain that hot shooting all game long and we just needed to trust in what we do and keep grinding.”

The Redbirds certainly kept grinding after the break, and they opened up a 55-45 lead by 12:12 with hot shooting from Will Murray. He was responsible for nine of Darlington’s first 17 points.

Part of the Redbirds’ success was attributed to its defensive shift that forced Cuba City to take more contested shots, and not be as consistent from the 3-point line. 

“We did make an effort to guard the 3-point line better and be more aggressive defensively to speed them up,” Uppena said. “We have been a second half team, in large part to us being able to wear teams down. We trusted in our process and wore them out a little, and that allowed us to go on a big run in the second half.”

The 10-point lead was a consistent marker for Darlington, who was matched point-for-point for a majority of the second half after it reached the 55-45 lead.

Long made both attempts on a one-and-one trip to the line just beyond the 5-minute mark that put the Redbirds ahead 73-62, and the Cubans didn’t get closer than 11 points the rest of the way. Darlington closed the game out going on a 16-3 run.

Even in the win, Uppena recognized there was room for improvement for the 4-0 Redbirds.

“We need to clean up some things defensively as we move forward,” he said. “We need to be able to adjust when teams get hot from the three and run them off the line, but we also need to improve our on the ball defense to eliminate the need to help as much as possible so that we can do that. We’re going to give up more points this year because of the pace at which we want to play and the extra possessions that come as a result of that, but we need to be able to clamp down when needed.”

Will Murray paced the Redbirds with 26 points, seven rebounds and three assists. Buschor (20 pts) buried five 3s and grabbed six boards. Reagan Jackson (14 pts, 4 reb), Carter Murray (9 pts, 11 reb) and Brady Long (8 pts, 9 reb, 8 ast) also played key roles for Darlington in the win.

Richard paced Cuba City with 21 points on seven 3s. Hinderman (14 pts) drained four triples and VanNatta (6 pts) added a 3-pointer.