Darlington, Rome battle in final game

In a game where neither team had a large lead, Darlington looked to its veterans to make a stand down the stretch. They responded by going to the post, just like they had done before.

The Tigers rallied, scoring the last eight points of their 63-55 win on Dec. 30 against Rome in the final game of the Harbin Clinic Hoops Classic behind t he strength of Elijah McKoy, JT Mumber and JD Hull.

“In the three games we have lost we felt like we gave up in the final quarter,” Darlington coach Tim Garrett said. “So what we wanted to do was just take our time, run an offense and really move on offense. And we put that together tonight.”

Mumber was a presence in the paint all night long, finishing with 26 points, while Hull scored 15 points and McKoy added 13. It was clear from the opening ti p t hat t he Tigers intended to play off the block.

Rome guard Jordan Watkins led the host Wolves with 16 points, while Nemo Reddish’s inside game led to 14 points for the senior. But both players struggled with foul tr o u b l e , wi t h Reddish fouling out in the fourth quarter.

Darlington’s post play helped the Tigers go on a 13-3 run to start the second quarter and lead by as many as nine during that stretch. But Rome’s shooting got them back in the game with a KJ Brown 3-pointer tying the game at 55-all with three minutes left.

That’s when Darlington (8-3) went back to the post as Hull made two inside shots and Mumber made another to finish the game.

“We want everything to run through the big guys,” Garrett said. “And we have to learn to play through the post, to allow the guards to get the shots they need.”

One of the biggest impacts on the game was the fouls for each team, with Rome being called for 26 and Darlington getting only six.

The Tigers were 20-of35 at the line while Rome made four of its six free throw attempts.

The Wolves’ tally included two technical fouls in the third quarter, one on coach Milt Travis and another on guard Trai Hodges.

“They beat us, and they did a better job than us in some things,” Travis said. “We’ve got to get better. This is our ninth game so there are no excuses.”