Turnovers were the main culprit in the varsity boys basketball 49-48 loss against Rochester on Thursday, Jan. 13.
Oxford committed 24 turnovers on the evening, including eight which head coach Paul Marfia deemed as ‘unforced errors.?
‘I don’t mind turnovers when they force us into them, but we had at least eight turnovers where we threw the ball out of bounds or we picked up our pivot foot or double dribbled,? Marfia said.
‘If you are going to be a good basketball team and play the best, and Rochester is the best team in our conference, and we do those kind of things we can’t expect to,? he added.
Rochester was able to get off to a hot start, jumping out to a quick 9-2 lead, but they soon went ice-cold from the field over the next six minutes.
Oxford took advantage, taking a 13-9 lead before Rochester scored again. The Wildcats were able to hold off the Falcons, taking a 25-22 lead at halftime and a 40-32 lead into the fourth quarter.
However the Falcons regained their shooting touch in the fourth quarter, outscoring Oxford 17-8 and squeaking out the win.
Junior Mark Hazelwood led Oxford with 16 points, while senior Chris Calvin contributed 12 points and 10 rebounds and senior Max George had seven points and eight rebounds.
‘I was happy with the effort of my kids. I felt they were prepared; I felt they knew what the other team was going to do; I felt they played hard,? Marfia said. ‘They made some big shots at times, but the one thing that just seemed to killed us was turnovers.?
With the loss, Oxford falls to 1-2 in the OAA Blue division. They battle with Royal Oak at home on Friday. Tip-off is at 7 p.m.