The long hours of practice that the Varsity Boys basketball team are putting in are starting to pay off as the team split the two Flint Metro League games this week.
They started the week off with a 45-41 victory over Lapeer East on Wednesday, Jan. 20.
‘It was a really grind-it-out basketball game,? said Head Coach Paul Marfia.
Oxford started out slowly, finding themselves down 12-8 by the end of the first quarter. It was then they stepped up the defensive pressure, holding the Eagles to one three-pointer in the second quarter.
‘I think it was really the team defense that really wore them down,? Marfia said.
The Wildcats were able to pull away in the second half, outscoring the Eagles 24-18.
Senior Kevin Cramer led the Wildcats with 13 points, while senior Mike Bertling had eight points and junior Chris Calvin had seven. Senior Tommy Nieman had six points and 10 rebounds for Oxford.
After a defensive game against Lapeer East, the offense had to crank it up during Friday night’s game against Holly.
They lost a overtime thriller, 79-75.
It looked like the Wildcats were on their way to defeating the Broncos after taking a 32-18 halftime lead.
‘I thought we came out very big in the beginning. I felt that we went out and made some basketball plays,? Marfia said.
But Holly stormed back, outscoring the Wildcats 23-10 in the third quarter to pull within one, 42-41. They were led by Justin Fowler, who hit three 3-pointers in the quarter. He finished with a game high 31 points, 25 coming in the second half.
The teams traded the lead numerous times during the fourth quarter. When the final buzzer sounded, the game was tied at 69.
Holly outscored the Wildcats 10-6 in overtime.
Nieman was the leading scorer for the Wildcats with 25 points, with Mike Bertling chipping in with 16 points.
One of the areas of concern for Marfia was the amount of free-throws that Holly shot during the game. They went 29-42 from the line, while the Wildcats only went 7-14.
‘When you give up 22 points from the free-throw line more than what you score, you dig yourself a hole. The heart of the Wildcat was very tough and I thought our defense was pretty solid,? he said.
Marfia added that one of the things that he wanted to improve on is setting a better tone to start the second half. He wants to be able to win those ‘four-minute wars,? which can help his team improve in the second half of the season.
After this week, the Wildcats are 4-7 overall, and 4-5 in the FML. They host Flint Kearsley on Jan. 26 before traveling to Clio on Jan. 29.