The varsity boys basketball team faced the Christian Heritage Lions on Monday, Jan. 29.

Christian Heritage won the tip, winning the first bucket of the game off of a layup to make the score 2-0 one minute into the first quarter.

Junior JD Hull answered with a layup of his own. Another layup by Christian Heritage and a layup by junior Eli Brooks tied the score 4-4.

Another layup by the Lions put them ahead by two points, but a made free throw from junior Barrick Wade cut it down to a one point lead. A layup by the Lions and a steal by Brooks led to a jumper from Hull, making the score 8-7.

Free throws and a layup by Christian Heritage kept the Lions leading by five points midway through the first quarter.

Two back-to-back steals by sophomore Griffin Brewster led to jumpers from Hull and senior Sam Tackeberry to bring the Tigers within one point of the lead.

An and-one basket by the Lions ended the first quarter, with a score of 15-11.

Christian Heritage began the second quarter with a layup and a three-pointer, increasing their lead to 20-11 early on.

A free throw by the Tigers cut the deficit to eight points. The Lions came back with a made three-pointer, but Wade answered with a three-pointer of his own, making the score 23-15.

A free throw by the Lions added a point to their lead, but a big hustle play by Tackeberry kept the ball in the Tigers’ hands and added another three points from junior Andrew Land to end the first half with a score of 24-18.

The Lions opened up the second half with a three-pointer, and a layup from Brooks and free throws from Christian Heritage brought the score to 29-20.

Layups by Hull and Wade were answered by two jumpers from the Lions, keeping Christian Heritage’s lead at nine points.

The Lions ended the third quarter and began the final quarter with a 12-0 run, making the score 45-24 with less than five minutes remaining in the game.

“Our team’s performance during the Christian Heritage game was not 100%. We made uncharacteristic plays that we do not make in practice. It’s something that we should’ve capitalized on at the moment, but we can learn from it,” Land said. “Christian Heritage’s defense was probably the biggest challenge. They seemed to know how to push the ball up as well.”

A foul by Christian Heritage put the Tigers in bonus, and a free throw by Wade ended the Lions’ unanswered run.

Darlington put up nine more unanswered points, making the score 45-34.

A foul by the Tigers put Christian Heritage at the line to end their scoring run, but a jumper by Wade kept the tempo going with the Lions leading 46-36.

Free throws and a layup by Christian Heritage followed by another free throw from Hull ended the game with a final score of 50-37.

“The Christian Heritage game taught us that we needed to execute our offense better, and that helped us in the Mt. Zion game. Unfortunately, the game slipped through our fingers due to missed layups, missed free throws and subpar defense,” Tackeberry said.

The Tigers will face the Lions again on Friday, Feb. 2 in the final region match-up of the regular season following a tough loss to Mt. Zion in overtime on Tuesday, Jan. 30.

“We struggled to find an offensive rhythm during our game versus Christian Heritage.To win on Friday we need to be more efficient offensively and limit our turnovers. We also need to shoot a better percentage at the free throw line,” head coach Bradley Pierson said.