Bobcats upend Darby, 50-32
Those distant rumbling sounds in the Superior area may be related to basketball.
And they may be a sign that youth and talent is emerging in a positive fashion in what has typically been a basketball stronghold.
The latest indication a revival is in the works for both the boys and girls after each team was hit hard by senior graduations this past spring: their showing against Darby, which made the trek to Superior this past Saturday evening.
The Bobcats boys, who have now won two of their last three games, were up first against a group of Tigers who have been struggling to get on the winning side of the tracks. Superior used its blend of youth and energy to handle Darby 50-32.
Then, the Lady Bobcats, who had also won two of their last three games, took on the 6-2 Darby Lady Tigers and came within one point of making it three wins in their last four games, falling to the visitors 57-56 in the Saturday nightcap in a down-to-the-wire thriller.
The Lady Bobcats, who were coming off an 11-point road win over Hot Springs the night before, found themselves down by two, 15-13, after the first quarter in a game where the lead bounced back and forth like, well, a basketball.
The resurgent Lady Cats then outscored Darby 18-13 in the second quarter to roll into halftime with a 31-28 lead.
Quarter number three was a stalemate, as both teams scrapped for 11 points each, preserving Superior’s tenuous three-point lead heading into the final quarter of the game between two solid defensive teams.
In the end, Darby, which got double-figure scoring from four different players, had the bare minimum offense it would take to erase that three point deficit and turn it into a one-point victory.
The Cats pretty much matched the offense contributions made by the victors, with 5-9 junior forward Braelynn Mangold throwing down a game-best 19 points for the home team. The Cats also got 15 from freshman guard Josie Crabb, and 12 from junior forward Eddye Betts.
Hadley Heland led Darby with 14 points, while teammates Georgia Fisher and Kimmie Berry had 12 each. Sierra Reed added 10 for the Lady Tigers.
Superior’s boys opened the night’s double-header with their young talent on display, surging out to a 14-7 first quarter lead, then stretching it to 24-16 at the half.
They were led by a pair of standout freshmen, 6-5 Landon Richards, and 5-9 point guard Gannon Quinlan, who has emerged as a deadly threat from beyond the three-point arc.
The Bobcats increased their lead in the third quarter by outscoring Darby 12-6. That gave the home boys a 36-22 advantage heading into the final quarter of play.
They added four more to the lead in the final eight minutes to complete the relatively comfortable win.
Richards, a big, young guy with moves, led all scorers with 16 points as he continued to be a factor under the basket for the Cats, who have just two seniors on their roster of mostly sophomores and freshman.
Quinlan added 15 points, mostly from the perimeter, and sophomore Logan Merrill chipped in nine points for the Cats.
McCoy Townsend paced Darby with 11 points.
Both Superior teams travel to Plains this Friday evening for a game with the Horsemen and Trotters. Plains boys are 6-2 on the year, while the Trotters are 7-1. Both Plains teams have won five in a row.
Saturday night (Jan 13) Superior returns to its home court for a pair of games versus Troy.