by Scott Sacry
The Darby boys played Manhattan Christian in the first round of the Western C Divisional tournament on Thursday, Feb. 23rd. Manhattan Christian is one of the best Class C teams in the state and don’t be surprised to see them contend for a state championship. Needless to say, Darby had their work cut out. After one quarter Darby trailed 15-25 and 23-49 at halftime. It was more of the same in the second half as Darby fell 53-91. Darby had some great stretches of play, but overall they didn’t have the firepower to compete with a deep, tall, and talented Manhattan Christian squad.
On Friday they met St. Regis in a loser out game. Darby rebounded from Thursday’s loss and played a great game against a solid St. Regis team. Darby led 24-21 at half and kept up the pressure in the second half to earn the 51-46 victory. Cullen Duggan led the way with 18 points, Hooper Reed had 12, and Devyn Hundley and Stevan Gabric each added 7.
This sent them to play a strong West Yellowstone team on Saturday morning in another loser-out game. Darby started fast and led 13-8 after one quarter and 27-26 at halftime. West Yellowstone pulled away in the second half as Darby struggled down the stretch and lost 54-72. Stevan Gabric and Hooper Reed had great games with 18 points each, and Cullen Duggan and Will Martin each added 8. It was not the way they wanted to end the season, but the Darby boys had a great season winning their conference tournament and making it to divisionals.