LO defeats Oxford 52-49 in final game of regular season

By Megan Kelley
Staff Writer
OXFORD TWP. — The Lake Orion High School boys varsity basketball team hit a four-game winning streak this week, including defeating the Oxford High School Wildcats 52-49 on Friday and the Waterford Kettering High School Captains 77-33 in the first game of the District tournament on Monday.
On Friday, Oxford High School’s field house was packed with excited fans from both Oxford and Lake Orion ready to see a head-to-head rivalry game between the Wildcats and the Dragons in their final games of the regular season.
The foul-heavy game ended with a Dragon victory, 52-49.
Lake Orion came out of the gate strong, taking an early lead while Oxford reached five fouls within the first five minutes of the first half, giving the Dragons a chance to extend their lead at the free throw line.
Lake Orion increased its lead early in the second quarter with back-to-back three point shots, but Oxford was able to make a comeback and tie the game up at 25-25 at the half.
Oxford’s leading scorer, senior Jake Champagne, kept the Wildcats in the game in the third quarter with 10 points but with Lake Orion’s Zack Parks, Ryan Rocheleau and Quay Fly scoring 14 points between them, the Wildcats trailed the Dragons 42-38 heading into the fourth quarter.
Oxford kicked it into high gear at the start of the fourth quarter, quickly tying the game up at 47-47.
Lake Orion pulled away, scoring twice and managed to hold onto that lead by matching the Wildcats on each point afterward.
With just seconds left on the clock, the Wildcats attempted to get control of the ball by forcing a turnover on a foul against Lake Orion’s Rocheleau, who scored one of his two free throw attempts to put the Dragons up by three with just 12 seconds left.
Oxford was unable to get a clear shot as the clock ticked down and the final buzzer rang with Lake Orion beating Oxford.
Leading scorers for the Dragons were Parks with 13 points, Gabe Scott with 12 points and Rocheleau with 10.
District Tournament
On Monday, the Dragons traveled to Waterford Kettering High School, taking on the Captains in their first match of Districts and walking away with a 77-33 quarterfinal victory.
Leading scorers for the Dragons were Parks with 18 points, Fly with 13 points and Ethan Sharkey with 11 points.
The Lake Orion boys ended their regular season 9-5 in the OAA White division and 16-7 overall.
The Dragons take on Waterford Mott in the District semi-finals on Wednesday at 5:30 p.m. at Waterford Kettering High School.