Wilson’s size and Darlington’s lack of offense result in a Falcons loss
Photo by Drake Horton
By Drake Horton
Contributing Writer
Darlington – It’s one of the biggest rivalry in the area; Darlington vs Wilson. Both fan bases loathe each other and the competitive nature of each game no matter the sport is unmatched.
That intensity is magnified when both teams take to the basketball court, and that is what happened this past Friday in Darlington. It was the second time this season both teams squared off and for the second time the Falcons came up short, this time losing 63-41.
It was not lack of defense, it was not lack of effort; it was the inability to score and the wasted possessions by the Falcons that doomed them in the end. At the end of the game, Darlington had 26 turnovers to go along with a poor night shooting as the Falcons only hit 32% of their shots.
“In the first half, I thought we played a very good first half; we held them to 29 points,” Darlington boys basketball head coach Ken Howle said. “Offensively like I said all along, scoring is such a challenge for us. We just don’t have the shooters that we’ve had and we settle too much for threes, but it’s a good club they (Wilson) have.”
A big reason for some of Darlington’s offensive problems had to do with the incredible size of Wilson. From the start the Tigers’ size gave the Falcons a problem and that was evident at the tipoff when Darlington opted to start all forwards and no guards in hopes to counter Wilson’s size.
Out of the gate the Falcons looked ready for the challenge going toe to toe with Wilson, even holding an early 8-6 lead, but that was the last time Darlington ever held the lead.
The Tigers closed out the first quarter with a 12-2 run and scored the first four points of the second quarter before the Falcons finally scored their first basket of the second quarter when Malike Cooper hit a jumper at the 4:22 mark.
Down by just 10 points at the half, it was not like Darlington was out of it by any means, but in that third quarter Wilson really began to take control, outscoring the Falcons 13-5.
The fourth quarter was more of the same as Wilson continued to work inside, hitting shots and free throws as the Falcons were never able to gain any traction in the second half against the Tigers.
With the loss Darlington is now 2-4 on the year.
By Drake Horton
Weekly Recap
The Falcons had two other games this week, the first against Marlboro County Bulldogs and the second against the South Florence Bruins, with both on the road.
In its first game, Darlington defeated the Bulldogs 71-42 in Bennettsville on Tuesday, December 6, while the Falcons lost the next night against the Bruins 60-53 in overtime on Wednesday, December 7.
Darlington controlled most of the game against South Florence except in the third quarter and overtime period. In the third the Bruins outscored the Falcons 24-8 and 14-7 in overtime.