DARLINGTON — The fourth-ranked Redbirds picked up two road wins, knocking off Southwestern and Highland Jan. 5-6.
On Jan. 5, Darlington (12-1, 4-1 SWAL) pummeled Southwestern (7-4, 3-2) 78-60. At halftime the Redbirds were already ahead 42-26.
Will Murray and Reagan Jackson each scored 21 points for Darlington, with Murray adding nine rebounds. Jackson was a useful 5-for-6 from beyond the 3-point line. Carter Murray and Broker Buschor also reached double digits, with each adding 10 points.
The Redbirds shot 8 of 29 from deep, hauled in 43 rebounds and assisted on 23 of 32 made baskets.
The next night, Darlington slaughtered Highland (6-4) in a nonconference battle of the birds, 80-38. The Cardinals were no match for the Redbirds, which led 50-21 at the midway point.
Will Murray paced the victors with 21 points and six rebounds. Buschor was 4-for-6 from deep and finished with 20 points. Jackson added 10 points and six rebounds. Brady Long scored 10 points. Darlington again owned the glass, tallying 39 rebounds as a squad.
New Glarus 66, St. Ambrose 57
NEW GLARUS — The Glarner Knights scored a tight nonconference win Jan. 4. New Glarus (6-5) led by just three at halftime, but pulled away in the second half, outscoring St. Ambrose (2-10) 36-30 after the break.
Cade Thayer scored a career-high 16 points to lead the Knights. Brett Warrell chipped in 14 points with four 3-pointers and a pair of free throws. Jake Roth was the third player in double figures with 13 points, going 9-for-14 from the charity stripe.
Pecatonica 46, Albany 41
BLANCHARDVILLE — Pecatonica ended a 7-game Albany winning streak — the program’s longest in more than two decades — on Jan. 5. The Vikings went into halftime with a 22-16 lead and never let the Comets take control in the second half.
Albany (8-5, 2-3 Six Rivers East) shot just 31.8% in the game, including a measly 4-for-21 from 2-point range. The Comets were 10-for-23 from 3. Pecatonica (5-3, 4-1) was 12-for-23 from inside and hit 5 of 14 from deep — a 45.9% mark from the field. The Vikings also outrebounded the Comets 22-13.
Charles Anderson led Pecatonica in scoring with 12 points, while Tyler McKeon had 11, Cohlman Schlimgen nine and Jameson Johnson eight.
Brayden Bakken and Ty Durtschi each had 12 points for Albany, with Drew Sertle adding nine.
Barneveld 68, Juda 26
BARNEVELD — The Panthers fell behind 34-15 at halftime and scored just 11 points in the second half, falling to 0-10 on the season.
Braydon Steinmann led Juda (0-10, 0-4) with eight points. Kasey Helgeson scored 23 for Barneveld (7-4, 3-1).
Randolph 61, Monticello 28
RANDOLPH — The Ponies fell behind the Rockets 30-12 by halftime, and the second stanza didn’t go much better.
Monticello shot just 22.6% from the field, while Randolph was at 49% — including an 8-for-19 mark from deep. The Rockets also out-rebounded Monticello on the defensive boards 29-13.
Ryer Indergand was the only Pony in double figures, finishing with 13 points on 6 of 25 shooting.
ARGYLE 80, MONTICELLO 30
ARGYLE — With a 52-point first half, Argyle cruised to a conference victory over Monticello on Friday, Jan. 5. The Orioles led in every statistical category except fouls (15-13).
Ike Waage paced Argyle with 20 points and 13 reboubds for a double-double. He was three assists away from a triple-double. Will Helfvogt chipped in 19 points, Casper Moen tallied 13 and Mason McNett recorded 10 to round out the squad.
Indergand led Monticello’s offense with 24 points, going 8-for-10 from the free-throw line with a pair of threes. He, Mason McCutchin, and Hunter Grossen grabbed a team-best four rebounds.
