HAZEL GREEN — Southwestern senior Peerson Kephart knocked down a pair of free throws with :00.6 remaining to lift the host Wildcats to a 56-54 victory over the Division 4 No. 6-ranked Darlington Redbirds in a see-saw SWAL boys’ basketball battle on Tuesday, Jan. 4.

With the score deadlocked at 54-54, Kephart was fouled on an inbound play and calmly knocked down both his foul shots to put the Wildcats (6-4 overall, 2-1 SWAL) ahead 56-54.

The Redbirds (5-2, 1-1) tried to complete a pass the length of the court to get off a final shot, but were unable to gather in the ball before the final horn went off.

The loss snapped Darlington’s 14-game winning streak over Southwestern dating back to 2014.

The Redbirds trailed 23-17 at halftime, but outscored the hosts 35-29 in the second half. Senior guard Easton Evenstad hit a 3-pointer with 49 seconds remaining in regulation to knot the score at 52 all. The Wildcats missed five shots in the final 10 seconds to send the game into overtime.

Evenstad scored 14 of his 16 points in the second half to lead the Darlington comeback. Senior Hunter Hardyman added 16 points for the ‘Birds, while sophomore Brady Long chipped in with 14.

Senior Nathan Reiff poured in a game-high 18 points and pulled down 11 rebounds to pace the Wildcats.