D.J. Hall did it all.
The Darlington School Tigers held off defending state champion Holy Innocents' 53-50 Wednesday to win the first boys basketball title in school history at the Macon Coliseum. Hall scored 30 points, grabbed six rebounds, dished out seven assists and stole the ball a couple of times, taking command of the court from the very tip-off. He was 5-for-8 from 3-point range, 5-for-7 at the foul line and ... no blocks, but didn't need to as he came through time and time again when the Tigers needed something done.
"That was exciting," said head coach Nathan West. "Really excited for the guys. This is something the school's never done. I told them (being here's) great, let's go win it. This is a hungry group, determined group, very goal oriented, driven, unselfish. They showed that out there."
West even quipped that they were saving Hall for just such a moment.
"He's the key to the program," said West. "He gets 30 not by being a selfish player, just doing what the defense allowed. It couldn't happen to a better person."
If not for Hall, Darlington has a dismal start to the game. As it was, Holy Innocents' led 12-6 as the Tigers were making nothing from the outside. Hall accounted for four of those six.
Then the 3-point bombs fell one after the other by one Tiger after another. Hall made three, and adding one each were Brent Bell, Jordan Wilkerson and Nate Pitts off the bench.
With that outburst, the Tigers went ahead at halftime 25-23.
In the third quarter, the lead changed hands six times. Hall not only came through with a clutch 3, but threw transition assists to Joesph Ogunyemi and Cam Selig. It was 42-38 Tigers after three quarters, and Hall found Selig again to start the fourth period.
Darlington never trailed in the last eight minutes. Hall had four big points plus an assist to Selig when the Bears pulled to within one. Both teams shot 8-for-15 in free throws.
This article was originally published in the Rome-News Tribune on March 11, 2026.
