DARLINGTON – Darlington’s shooters felt right at home in their first SWAL home game of the season.
    The Redbirds (8-2 overall, 4-1 SWAL) knocked down six 3-pointers to shoot out to a 31-17 halftime lead, and rode their lead through the entire second half to down the Boscobel Bulldogs, 70-52, in boys’ basketball action at DHS on Friday, Jan. 8.
    “It’s great if they go in, but if they don’t go in the percentages rebounding-wise are not with you,” said Darlington head coach Michael Hopkins about the team’s early shooting prowess from beyond the arc. “We rely a little too much on the outside shot. I’d like us to be a little more balanced in our shot selection.”
    Trevor Johnson, Chad Golackson and Ryan Glendenning each hit two 3s for the ‘Birds in the opening half to lift the hosts to a 14-point halftime advantage.
    The Bulldogs (3-5, 0-5) closed within seven at 34-27 on a back-to-back baskets by Treston Davidson with just under 12 minutes remaining in the game, but the Redbirds pushed the lead right back to double digits and coasted in from there.
    Johnson netted nine of his team-high 17 points in the second half to set a new career high. Brayden McDonald struck for all eight of his points in the second half for the ‘Birds.
    Golackson finished with 11 points, while Glendenning and Will Schwartz chipped in with eight points apiece to aid the balanced ‘Bird attack.
    “We had different guys step up tonight, which is nice to see. We’ve had seven guys who have been in double figures this year. It’s good to see so many guys contributing to the team effort,” commented Hopkins.
    Ryan Latham poured in a game-high 22 points and Dallas Marks added 11 for the Bulldogs.
    At Hazel Green, on Tuesday, Jan. 5, junior Chad Golackson was perfect from the field, scoring a career-high 21 points on 6-for-6 shooting 2-point range and 3-for-3 shooting from 3-point range, to lead the Redbirds to a 63-47 SWAL victory over the host Southwestern Wildcats.
    Golackson scored 13 of his 21 points in the opening half to send the ‘Birds flying out to a 36-23 lead on the Wildcats (4-5, 2-2). Will Schwartz and Josh Soper scored nine and eight points, respectively, in the first half. Each guy finished the night with 13 points.
    The ‘Cats could make up little ground in the second half as the Darlington defense continued to make it tough on their shooters.
    “We shot very well at Southwestern. Our defense was pretty solid, especially when we were in our zone. We held them to 29 percent shooting on the night,” said Coach Michael Hopkins.
    Darlington heads to Livingston on Thursday, Jan. 14, to face the league-leading Iowa-Grant Panthers (9-1, 5-0) in a key SWAL contest. The Redbirds also have a conference game at Riverdale on Tuesday, Jan. 19.
    “We’ll take them one game at a time,” Hopkins stated.
 
Boscobel…..  17   35 – 52
Darlington…  31   39 – 70
Boscobel – Latham 22, Monroe 8, Marks 11, Davidson 7, Reynolds 2, Lucas 2. Totals – 19  9-19  52.
Darlington – Will Schwartz 8, Tanner Evenstad 2, Brayden McDonald 8, Ryan Glendenning 8, Hunter Wilkinson 3, Hayden Hardyman 2, Trevor Johnson 17, Tony Ruesga 5, Josh Soper 6, Chad Golackson 11. Totals – 25  12-20  70.
3-point goals– B 5 (Latham 2, Monroe 1, Marks 1, Davidson 1), D 8 (Glendenning 2, Wilkinson 1, Johnson 2, Ruesga 1, Golackson 2). Total fouls– B 19, D 15.
 
Darlington……..  36   27 – 63
Southwestern…  23   24 – 47
Darlington – Will Schwartz 13, Tanner Evenstad 3, Brayden McDonald 5, Hayden Hardyman 2, Trevor Johnson 3, Tony Ruesga 3, Josh Soper 13, Chad Golackson 21. Totals – 25  7-8  63.
Southwestern – Jochum 6, Vaassen 15, Ky. Tranel 9, Rieken 4, Ku. Tranel 13. Totals – 14  14-17  47.
3-point goals– D 6 (Schwartz 1, Evenstad 1, McDonald 1, Golackson 3), S 5 (Jochum 2, Vaassen 3). Total fouls– D 16, S 18.