The boys varsity basketball season came to a bitter end with a 52-49 overtime loss at the hands of Rochester Adams during the first round of district play on Monday, March 7.
Rochester Adams came out early and showed why many considered them the team to beat in district play. They held the Wildcats to eight points in the first and second quarter and took a 24-16 lead at halftime.
Then momentum began to shift into the Wildcat’s favor on back-to-back possessions in the third quarter.
Trailing by nine, junior guard Mark Hazelwood hit a three-pointer to cut the lead to six.
After an Oxford foul on the next Rochester Adams possession, resulting in a free-throw for Adams, the Wildcats took the ball up the court and set Hazelwood up for a three-point attempt.
Hazelwood managed to sink the three-point attempt, and in the process was fouled on the shot, setting up a potential four-point play if he made the free-throw.
Even though Hazelwood missed the free-throw, Oxford had trimmed the lead to three and went into the fourth quarter trailing 33-29.
Then junior guard Ben Magdaleno got hot.
He scored all eight of his points in the fourth quarter, including the game tying three with six seconds left, sending the game into overtime.
Hazelwood led the Wildcats with 17 points. Junior Jacques Toussaint had seven points and senior Chris Calvin had five points and 14 rebounds for Oxford.
‘It was really a great effort by the seniors,? said head coach Paul Marfia. ‘They showed great improvement throughout the year, and that is what we wanted.?
With the loss, Oxford finished the season with a 6-15 record.