Superior hoopers snag wins at Darby

Superior’s boys' and girls' basketball teams made the most of their only contests of the past week as the Bobcats boys and Lady Bobcats girls swept a pair of road games in Darby Thursday night.

The Superior boys got 20-plus points from two players, sophomore guard Gannon Quinlan (game-high 27 points) and junior guard/forward Phin Cataldo who added 22 points in the Bobcats’ 65-54 win over the Tigers. 

The Lady Bobcats, meanwhile, rode the 26 points of standout forward Braelynn Mangold, the only senior of the on the Lady Cats 2024-25 roster, to a 68-49 win over the host Lady Tigers. 

Quinlan had five of his team’s six three-pointers, including two in the opening quarter that helped stake the Bobcats to a 23-8 lead after the first eight minutes of play.  Cataldo also had eight first quarter points, hitting four two-pointers. 

Cataldo kept up his hot shooting in the second quarter when he scored seven points to go with Quinlan’s five, including his third trey, to boost Superior to a 41-16 halftime advantage. 

Darby outscored Superior 15-14 in the third quarter, trimming one point off the Cats 55-31 lead heading into the fourth quarter. 

With a seemingly comfortable lead after three quarters, the Tigers used three treys from junior guard McCoy Townsend and a pair of threes from 6-1 sophomore Leif Nelson, also had five threes for the game, including two in each of the last two quarters of play. 

But the large early lead proved to be too much for Darby to overcome as the Bobcats regrouped and held on for the 11-point win. The win boosted Superior to 5-3 on the year and 1-1 in Western 7B play. 

Quinlan’s 27 points topped all scorers.  Darby, a member of the Western 6B conference, fell to 2-5 on the season. 

The Lady Bobcats, meanwhile, played even up with the Lady Tigers in the first quarter of their game, which ended with Superior up 15-13. 

With Mangold playing an outstanding game inside and out, the Lady Cats broke the game open in the second quarter when they outpointed Darby 22-8 to take a 37-21 halftime lead. 

The Lady Cats added three points to their lead in the third quarter on their way to a 51-32 lead with one quarter to play. 

Both teams tallied 17 points in the fourth quarter as Superior held their lead and upped their season record to 3-5 as they snapped a four-game losing streak. 

In addition to Mangold’s 26 points, the Lady Bobcats go 15 from Makenzie Reum and 14 points from sophomore guard Josie Crabb. 

Both Superior teams return to action tomorrow (Jan 16) when they entertain 7B foe Plains in Superior.  The Bobcats and Lady Bobcats make the long road trip to Troy (147 miles each way) for a pair of 7B conference games. 

    Superior's Maggie Haworth drives past a Darby player on her way to the basket during their game this past Friday in Darby. (Courtesy photo)