DARLINGTON — Senior leader Carver Fitzsimons went down 37 seconds into Darlington’s 55-49 regional final loss to Marshall on Saturday, March 4.
Despite a strong supporting cast — Brady Long (14 points), Reagan Jackson (12 points) and Broker Buschor (11 points) — the injury caught the Redbirds off guard, and they weren’t quite ever able to recover.
“Obviously, the Marshall game didn’t turn out the way we had hoped,” Darlington head coach Tom Uppena said. “Everything changed in the first defensive possession of the game when Carver went down. There’s not a worse thing that can happen to a kid, getting hurt and not being able to be out there with your teammates. He brought so much to our team and was so incredibly valuable, not just with his scoring but with his rebounding and defense. It really altered the game plan quite a bit and with no time to prepare, we had to adjust on the fly.”
Darlington (22-4, 12-2 SWAL) overcame a narrow, three-point first-half deficit to take the game into overtime. Both squads scored just four points before Marshall (16-10, 6-4 Capitol South) bested Darlington 8-2 in the second overtime to win.
“The kids played their butts off,” said Uppena. “The effort was incredible, but the shots just weren’t falling and it wasn’t our night. That happens in sports. So many great things come out of competition, but sports can also be cruel. Even in a hard loss, though, there is still the opportunity to show resilience and togetherness.”
Long was a perfect 6-for-6 at the free-throw line. While Buschor chipped in a team-best seven rebounds.
Even in the loss, Uppena was still grateful and looks forward to what the future holds.
“I couldn’t be more proud of this team and this group of seniors,” Uppena said. “I want to thank [them] for all they’ve given the program. I’m thankful I was able to be a part of this great group, and I love each and every one of them. I’m sad it ended how it did, but I’m grateful for our time together. The offseason is a time to work on the things we need to improve on. Despite losing a great group of guys, we do have six of our top seven in minutes played returning. We just need to stay hungry.”
DARLINGTON 76, CAMBRIDGE 54
DARLINGTON — To advance to the regional final, the Redbirds defeated another Capitol South opponent in Cambridge (14-12, 4-6) on Friday, March 3.
“We came out with great intensity against Cambridge after having a week off,” Uppena said. “The energy was great and everyone contributed.”
Perhaps the highlight of the first half came when Long fired a full-court pass up to Fitzsimons for a dunk.
The final three minutes of the half featured a 13-3 run for the Redbirds — Fitzsimons tallied a basket in the paint at 2:15, Will Murray put in a layup off a Jackson steal at 1:51, Buschor drained a 3-pointer at 1:04 and Will Murray followed with a three with 43 seconds left in the half.
The only Cambridge score came by way of a jumper three from Buckman at 1:33, sealing the first half with a 45-21 advantage for Darlington.
The Blue Jays managed to outscore the Redbirds by two points in the second half.
A good portion of the bench saw minutes late in the second half once it was clear Cambridge wouldn’t stage a comeback, as the game closed with a 76-54 win for Darlington.
“We were able to play the bench quite a bit, which was nice for them to get some more playing time and nice for the starters to get some rest for Saturday’s game,” Uppena said.
Although Saturday’s game ended in a loss, Darlington still had a successful season. The Redbirds won the SWAL after a 9-5 mark a year ago. In 26 games, Fitzsimons nearly averaged a double-double, recording 13.7 ppg and 9.1 rpg. Meanwhile, Will Murray paced the offense with 16.4 ppg. Long made large contributions also, averaging 11.4 points per game.
— Natalie Dillon contributed to this article
