Boy’s Varsity Basketball Head Coach Paul Marfia was worried about the start of Monday night’s game against Linden because he thought the players would be stagnate from not being in school that day.
He worst fears came true when Linden jumped out to a 18-4 lead midway through the first quarter.
The guys showed heart and determination the rest of the game, cutting the lead to 24-18 by the end of the half. They battled all the way back to tie the game at 44, and scored the only six points of overtime in their 50-44 victory over Linden.
Some of the biggest plays of the game came on the defensive end. Late in the fourth, Senior Tommy Neiman made a key steal and Senior Mike Bertling had a big block at the end of regulation.
‘When you give up 18 in the first quarter but you only allow 44 by the end of regulation, you have to give it up to the kids,? said Marfia. ‘They did a really nice job.?
Bertling was the leading scorer with 16 points, while Senior Kevin Cramer added 10 points. A total of nine players scored for the Wildcats.
‘The biggest thing was that impressed me was our composure to stay with it and keep playing the whole game and not get down on ourselves,? Marfia said.
The victory came after a tough 55-45 loss to Swartz Creek on Friday, Jan. 15. The Wildcats ran into a balanced Swartz Creek offense that saw nine players score.
Seven of the players had five or more points.
‘We played them pretty close…but they just seemed to keep eking up on us and we just couldn’t get our breaks,? Marfia said.
Neiman had a game high 20 points for the Wildcats and Bertling chipped in 12 points. Junior Chris Calvin had six points and led Oxford with 12 rebounds.
Marfia noted that the three-point shooting was the difference in the game. Oxford was 0-11 shooting three’s while Swartz Creek was 4-12.
After the week they are 3-6 overall, and 3-4 in the Flint Metro League. They play Lapeer East at home on Wednesday, Jan. 20 beginning at 7:00 p.m. and Holly on Friday, Jan. 22.