DARLINGTON – After easing their way into the basketball season following successful seasons on the football field, the Darlington and Black Hawk boys’ basketball teams saw plenty of action on the hardwood last week.
    The Redbirds took to the court three times over the span of five days and came away with three victories to improve their record to 5-1 on the season and 2-1 in the SWAL, while the Warriors played back-to-back games less than 20 hours apart and suffered their first two losses of the season to slip to 3-2 on the season and 2-1 in the Six Rivers East.
    Darlington defeated Lancaster, 57-43, in a non-conference game at LHS on Tuesday, Dec. 15, and then held off defending SWAL champion Mineral Point, 57-51, in a league contest at MPHS on Thursday, Dec. 17.
    The ‘Birds returned home on Saturday, Dec. 19, to host the Warriors in a make-up game from Nov. 24, and they pushed their record to 3-0 on the week with a 74-53 non-conference decision.
    “We really don’t have any weak non-conference opponents. It’s nice to have tough opponents like Black Hawk and Lancaster to get us ready for our league games,” said Darlington head coach Mike Hopkins.
    The Warriors lost their unbeaten record the previous evening when they fell to Albany, 76-65, in the opening game of the Six Rivers Boys’ Basketball Jamboree held at UW-Platteville’s Williams Fieldhouse.
    “Our kids are fighting. I’m proud of our effort. We just have to limit our bad stretches. If we can do that we’ll turn into a pretty good basketball team,” commented Black Hawk head coach Charlie Anderson.
    Black Hawk grabbed a 12-9 lead on Darlington following a 3-pointer by CJ Leuzinger, but the Redbirds answered back with a 23-5 scoring run to open up a 32-17 advantage.
    The ‘Birds maintained a 15-point lead at the intermission, and then opened the second half on a 23-10 run to pull ahead 59-31 and they coasted in from there.
    “There were four-minute stretches in each half that killed us. We are a young team and we have to try and avoid those long spells,” admitted Anderson.
    Junior guard Will Schwartz led three Redbirds in double figures with a game-high 18-point effort, including three of the team’s 10 3-point baskets. Juniors Josh Soper and Ryan Glendenning netted 12 points apiece, while junior forward Chad Golackson tallied eight points and junior guard Trevor Johnson added seven.
    Sophomore guard Jason Treuthardt scored 12 points to lead the Warriors. Junior forward Josh Meier tallied 11 points and Leuzinger followed with 10, while senior Chase Stietz and freshman Conner Meyer each scored seven.
    Junior guard Brayden McDonald scored a team-high 13 points in Darlington’s win over Lancaster, and he added 11 in the win over Mineral Point. Soper chipped in with 12 against the Arrows (3-2), followed by Schwartz’s nine and Glendenning’s seven.
    Schwartz led the ‘Birds with 15 points against the Pointers (1-4, 1-2), while Glendenning netted 11 and Johnson added eight.
    Albany’s Cole Trapp scored 18 of his 26 points in the first half to lead the Comets (5-2, 2-1) out to a 37-27 halftime lead, and his teammate Tyler Dahl went off for 21 of his 27 points in the second half to hold off a Warrior comeback.
    The Warriors held an early 18-10 lead until a 10-0 run by the Comets put them in a hole. Albany extended their lead to as many as 18 in the second half before a late push by Black Hawk trimmed the deficit to five, but their rally came up short after the Comets went 15-for-16 from the foul line in the second half.
    “We got off to a fast start, but we had a lapse at the end of the half,” said Anderson. “Again, in the second half, we had a four-minute lapse in concentration and they extended their lead.”
    Meier led three Warriors in double figures with 13 points. Senior Jacob Quinn and Stietz added 12 points apiece.
    Black Hawk will participate in the Mineral Point Holiday Tournament on Monday and Tuesday, Dec. 28-29. The Warriors open the event against the host Pointers at 7:30 p.m. on Monday. Platteville faces Appleton North in the other semifinal game.
    The consolation game will begin at 6 p.m. on Tuesday with the championship game to follow at approximately 7:30 p.m.
    Next up for Darlington is a non-conference game at Pecatonica (Blanchardville) on Tuesday, Dec. 29, starting at 7:30 p.m.

Black Hawk…  21   32 – 53
Darlington…..  36   38 – 74
    Black Hawk – Jacob Quinn 3, Jason Treuthardt 12, CJ Leuzinger 10, Jett Rufenacht 2, Josh Meier 11, Seth Paulson 1, Chase Stietz 7, Connor Meyer 7. Totals – 18  12-19  53.
    Darlington – Will Schwartz 18, Tanner Evanstad 3, Ryan Glendenning 12, Hunter Wilkinson 6, Hayden Hardyman 2, Tyler Torstenson-Harris 2, Trevor Johnson 7, Tony Ruesga 4, Josh Soper 12, Chad Golackson 8. Totals – 29  6-7  74.
    3-point goals– BH 5 (Quinn 1, Treuthardt 1, Leuzinger 2, Meier 1), D 10 (Schwartz 3, Evanstad 1, Glendenning 2, Wilkinson 2, Golackson 2). Total fouls– BH 10, D 18.

Darlington…  25   32 – 57
Lancaster….  18   25 – 43
    Darlington – Will Schwartz 9, Brayden McDonald 13, Ryan Glendenning 7, Trevor Johnson 6, Tony Ruesga 2, Josh Soper 12, Chad Golackson 6. Totals – 22  8-14  57.
    Lancaster – T. Reuter 1, D. Reuter 8, Hentrich 1, Moore 9, Recker 3, Jones 21. Totals – 15  8-16  43.
    3-point goals– D 5 (Schwartz 1, McDonald 3, Glendenning 1), L 5 (D. Reuter 2, Recker 1, Jones 2). Total fouls– D 14, L 15. Fouled Out– L: Jones.

Darlington…….  29   28 – 57
Mineral Point…  24   27 – 51
    Darlington – Will Schwartz 15, Brayden McDonald 11, Ryan Glendenning 11, Trevor Johnson 8, Tony Ruesga 2, Josh Soper 7, Chad Golackson 3. Totals – 19  14-20  57.
    Mineral Point – James 3, MacGilvra 7, Pfaff 13, Steffes 2, Toay 5, Warrick 9, Wendhausen 12. Totals – 19  6-13  51.
    3-point goals– D 5 (Schwartz 1, McDonald 3, Glendenning 1), MP 9 (James 1, MacGilvra 2, Pfaff 3, Wendhausen 3). Total fouls– D 16, MP 21.

Albany……….  37   39 – 76
Black Hawk…  27   38 – 65
    Albany – Trow 3, Little 2, Dahl 27, Trapp 26, Berra 2, Gilkes 7, Ross 9. Totals – 26  19-23  76.
    Black Hawk – Jacob Quinn 12, Jason Treuthardt 6, CJ Leuzinger 4, Jett Rufenacht 2, Josh Meier 13, Michael Flanagan 8, Chase Stietz 12, Connor Meyer 8. Totals – 23  11-17  65.
    3-point goals– A 5 (Trow 1, Trapp 3, Gilkes 1), BH 8 (Quinn 4, Treuthardt 1, Meier 1, Flanagan 2). Total fouls– A na, BH 20. Fouled Out– B: Meier.