HAZEL GREEN — As the 2024-25 boys’ basketball regular season nears its end, the SWAL standings are finally leveling out. Darlington helped things along, breaking a second-place tie with Southwestern in a Feb. 11 road win over the Wildcats, 70-62.

Southwestern (17-5, 8-4), the fourth-ranked team in Division 5, came off the tip with the hotter hands, and worked to a 10-3 lead over the first few minutes. A three from the standout junior, Broker Buschor, was the only thing holding the Redbirds from a goose egg. Dante Glendenning added a three at the 14-minute mark, and Buschor followed 60 seconds later with a bucket in the paint off his own steal.

Then the hosting Wildcats surged to a 21-10 lead as the clock passed 11:00, with a pair of Zeke Zuberbuhler free throws early in the run being the only Darlington rebuttal.

For the next six minutes, the teams exchanged baskets, though the Redbirds did chip into their deficit by three points to 5:38, 29-21, ahead of a Southwestern timeout.

“Southwestern started the game with a little more energy than we did, and they hit some three’s because of it,” Darlington head coach Tom Uppena said. “After the first timeout, we settled down and started executing the game plan. We guarded [Aiden] Keleher and [Everett] Droessler pretty well from that point on and our secondary scorers started to step up.”

Keleher and Droessler have been leading scorers for the Wildcats this season, and combined for 15 of their team’s points up to the timeout. To the final buzzer, they had just 13.

Some of the secondary scorers that Uppena talked about included Glendenning, Ryder Fitzsimons, Taggart Gille, and Grady O’Brien. Cagyn Paisley also got involved, draining his only basket of the night in transition out of the stoppage. Glendenning and Gille added two’s, and the Redbirds were suddenly down by only four points with 1:10 knocked off the clock.

Gille stayed hot following a 1-for-2 trip to the charity stripe by Zuberbuhler with a three from the top of the key that took its time on the rim before falling. Fitzsimons ended up hitting the score that gave Darlington its first taste of a lead. The ball landed in his hands after a ball reversal left a hole in Southwestern’s defense. The catch-and-release by the freshman from three with 2:09 left in the half was the final score of the night, and elicited roars from the Redbirds’ bench and fans.

The bucket was also the final of the half, despite six more attempts between the two squads.

For Uppena, getting his secondary scorers involved is a crucial component to his team’s success.

“When teams key on Broker and Zeke, we have to help those two by being more assertive offensively,” he said. “The other guys stepped up and we had pretty balanced scoring. When we can get that, we are a tough team to beat.”

The message at the break was simple — be consistent.

“At half time, we emphasized sticking to the game plan,” Uppena said. “After the first several minutes where we dug ourselves a hole, we were doing what we wanted coming in, and just needed to continue to do that.”

Darlington was effective out of the break, and while the Wildcats served up some early adversity in the second frame, the Redbirds were eager to return it in spades. The teams traded blows, with neither holding the lead long through the first nine minutes. Then Glendenning got his hands on the ball.

The sophomore worked around a pick from Buschor, with Southwestern defenders struggling to follow. He got a pass, planted his feet, and fired off a three. As the clock showed 8:14, the score favored Darlington, 56-54. The blast proved to be the final blow the Redbirds needed to pull off the win. 

“Down the stretch, we got key stops and we made our free throws, and that’s how you win close games against really good teams,” Uppena said. “No real surprises from the Wildcats. I think our guys executed the scout and always made the key plays when we needed it. I’m proud of the effort and the way this team is coming together.”

Buschor and Fitzsimons tied for a team-high 14 points, with Zuberbuhler (12 pts) and Glendenning (11 pts) in tow. Buschor also led assists (5) while Gille crashed the boards with seven rebounds.

Buschor’s offensive efforts also moved the talented guard to 1,014 career points. He crossed the vaunted threshold that only seven other Darlington athletes have attained in program history. At eighth overall, he sits just nine points behind 1995 graduate Brian Nethery. Buschor will get the opportunity to move up as the Redbirds return home to host Dodgeville (8-11) on Feb. 17.