DARLINGTON — Winning returned to Darlington’s boys basketball as it downed Fennimore at home on Jan. 24, 68-51.

“It was good to get back on the winning track after the tough loss to Cuba City,” Redbirds head coach Tom Uppena said. “Every conference win is important and keeps our chances open to at least get a share of the conference title.”

Darlington (11-3, 7-2 SWAL) was effective on offense often, never surrendering the lead despite a few early ties. The final even split, 14-14, came at the 9:00-mark following a Golden Eagles (4-9, 3-5) three. Broker Buschor cut the tie moments after, putting down a turnaround jumper at the elbow.

A Grady O’Brien steal resulted in a Buschor three just over a minute later. Dante Glendenning and Zeke Zuberbuhler each tallied a two, and the latter answered a Fennimore field goal with a 3-pointer to hammer home a 10-point lead, 26-16, with five minutes left to the break.

The gap was maintained to a 36-25 split by halftime. The Golden Eagles nibbled into the Redbirds’ lead out of the stoppage, but couldn’t get within eight points to the final buzzer.

Despite Buschor’s early burst, Zuberbuhler came away with a game-high 28 points. Buschor was runner-up on the night at 19 points. Buschor also led all athletes on the boards with seven rebounds.

“I saw some improvement on some of the things defensively we’ve been working on, and of course it always helps to make shots, which we did,” Uppena said. “I’m happy with the win, and look forward to continuing to work on the things we need to clean up.”