NEW GLARUS — The nonconference matchup between New Glarus and Darlington has become something of a pretty good rivalry in recent years. Typically Division 4 schools, the WIAA moved both to D3 this season after a number of teams opted out of the postseason.

That means the two squads will again share a regional in the playoffs, making Darlington’s 70-58 win Jan. 25 a potential preview of things to come in the postseason.

“It’s always a good one when we come here and when they come to see us,” Darlington coach Tom Uppena said. “I have a feeling we’ll be seeing each other in the playoffs here in Division 3. It’s good to get one tonight for seeding purposes over them.”

The visiting Redbirds (11-4) used an 11-0 run midway through the first half to take a 19-10 lead. The gap widened and twice reached 11 in the first half, thanks to Cayden Rankin and Easton Evenstad in particular. Rankin scored 13 of his 19 points in the frame, while Evenstad had 8 of his 19. The pair combined for five 3-pointers.

“Easton has really been struggling lately. He’s been in one of those funks where it doesn’t seem like anything’s working right, and your shot doesn’t go in. And that’s a hole that’s really tough to get out of,” Uppena said. “He’s kept plugging away, and tonight he was the spark for us. I think he was the difference. He came out and hit shots for us, made some 3s and created things on offense for us. I’m really happy with how he played.”

New Glarus (11-6) struggled shooting the ball in the opening frame trailed at halftime 28-19. Glarner Knights head coach Travis Sysko and his players knew the opening minutes of the second half would be key.

“They are a good basketball team, obviously,” Sysko said of Darlington. “We didn’t do ourselves any favors in the first half. I thought we played great defense, but on the offensive end we left a lot of points out there that we normally finish — especially underneath. Those are shots that we usually shoot at a better clip than we did tonight, and instead of being down 9, maybe we’d be tied at the half.”

Darlington opened the half with a 3 by Curtis Stone to stretch the advantage to 12 points, but the Glarner Knights didn’t blink. Dain Walter had a bucket immediately in transition, then Carter Siegenthaler hit a 3 and Walter scored on a putback to make it 31-25 just 92 seconds into the half. 

The Redbirds scored on back-to-back possessions with Carter Lancaster in the post and Rankin with a putback to go back up by 10, but Nathan Streiff drove to the hole for New Glarus, and Siegenthaler hit back-to-back 3s off passes from Mason Martinson to bring the Knights back to within two points at 35-33, forcing Uppena to use a full timeout.

“Carter’s a guy that we rely on to knock shots down from the perimeter, and he was able to do that tonight. He got loose and hit a few, which was good to see, because it gets some of that confidence back,” Sysko said.

The minute-break was key for the Redbirds, as the flock was able to regroup and restructure their formation. What followed was an 22-11 run that swung complete control of the game back to the visiting bench.

“It’s all about effort with us lately. I think we definitely had that tonight. I was happy with how we shot — we shot the ball pretty well and better than we have in a while,” Uppena said, adding that Evenstad’s leadership was key. “(Evenstad) made good decisions and facilitated offensively for us. He’s such a good ball handler, it was nice to see him step up and take charge for us.”

Rankin and Evenstad finished tied with a game-high 19 points, while Lancaster had 15 and Hunter Hardyman 9. The Redbirds finished with nine 3s in the game and were 13 of 22 from the free throw line. Rankin had a double-double, adding 13 rebounds.

“He’s definitely got that capability,” Uppena said of Rankin. “For a kid that’s 6-6 he shoots really well. He’s our best 3-point shooter and he does things good in transition and got inside a little bit more, which I like to see out of him.”

Walter paced the Knights with 17 points, while pulling in a hefty number of rebounds. Sysko has been impressed with the growth of his big man this year. Walter also leads the team in scoring at more than 14 per game.

“Dain is a big strong kid and has been a real bright spot for us this season. Dain works hard every night. He’s a student of the game and just wants to get better. He’s got a great attitude and the sky is the limit for him,” Sysko said.

Siegenthaler finished with 16 points and four 3s. AC Strok added 12 points and Streiff had 9.

Not scoring for New Glarus was Mason Martinson, who averaged 12.5 points per game coming in and is defending Capitol Conference South Player of the Year. The Redbirds keyed the versatile guard/forward and kept him from scoring deep in the post or finding an open look from the outside.

“But credit to Darlington, Tom does a great job over there. They’ve got a lot of varsity experience over there and those boys have been playing together a long time. It’s a nice team and, you know, who knows, we might see them again in the tournament,” Sysko said.

New Glarus had a league game Jan. 28 at Cambridge scheduled, followed by a big matchup Jan. 30 against Monroe (9-1), the No. 6-ranked team in Division 2. Darlington, meanwhile, was scheduled to host Southwestern Jan. 28, then Mineral Point Jan. 30 and top-ranked Cuba City two days later.