MUSCODA – The road hasn’t been too kind to the Darlington boys’ basketball team this season, but the Redbirds made the long road trip to Muscoda well worth their while as they wrapped up the first-half of their conference schedule by routing Riverdale, 52-37 in a SWAL contest at RHS on Tuesday, Jan. 17.
    The Redbirds (8-5 overall, 4-3 in SWAL) entered Tuesday’s game with a rough road record of 2-4 this season, including a 1-3 mark in the SWAL; but the ‘Birds put that behind them early in the game after bolting out to 20-9 lead on the Chieftains (1-12, 0-7) by the close of the opening period.
    Darlington extended their lead to 34-15 by halftime, then tacked on another five points to their advantage by outscoring the hosts 16-11 in the third quarter.
    An 11-2 run by Riverdale in the fourth quarter made the game look closer than it actually was as the ‘Birds cruised to their second straight double-digit SWAL victory.
    Senior guard Brandon Hardyman commanded the Redbirds’ attack with a game-high 20 points, while senior guard Cedric Flesher poured in a career-high 12 points to aid the victory.
    Seniors Mitchell Whalen and Jake Martin each scored seven points for Darlington.
    Riverdale was led by Dakota Lins’ 12 points.
    At Darlington, on Friday, Jan. 20, the Redbirds’ meeting with #2-ranked Cuba City was postponed due to Friday’s snowstorm. The game has been rescheduled for Saturday, Feb. 18, with the junior varsity game scheduled for 1 p.m. followed by the varsity game.
    Darlington heads to Fennimore on Thursday, Jan. 26, and returns home to face Mineral Point on Tuesday, Jan. 31, in SWAL action.
   
Darlington… 20  14  16    2 - 52
Riverdale….    9    6  11  11 - 37
Leading Scorers: Brandon Hardyman 20, Cedric Flesher 12, Mitchell Whalen 7, Jake Martin 7, Storm Wiegel 4, Kent Miehe 2.