Boys’ Basketball
Oxford 55, Afton 44
OXFORD – Oxford shook off a slow start and an early 12-point deficit in the third quarter to finish its MAC Division II schedule at 10-0.
It was the tenth straight win for the Blackhawks (13-6), who play Unadilla Valley Saturday at 4 p.m. on their home floor for the league title. “I’m calling it (the slow start) the senior recognition curse,” said Oxford coach Tim Davis. “I don’t know what it was. We did everything else okay, we just didn’t shoot it well and couldn’t buy a basket.”
Afton led 25-15 at the break and scored the first basket of the second half. Oxford finished the quarter on a 23-6 run getting nine points from Trevor Nelson and eight from Scott Seiler. “We got a little spark going in the third quarter, but the shooting never was impressive,” Davis said.
Ben Burdick led four Oxford players in double figures scoring 19 points. Nelson and Seiler had 11 apiece, while Steve Locke scored 10.
Afton junior Bryant Winans netted 17 points.
Afton: Bryant Winans, 6 4-5-17; Joe Effrin, 0; Phil Sanford, 3 0-2-8; Matt Davy, 0 1-2-1; Karl Rogler, 3 0-1-7; Jacob Snyder, 1 0-0-2; Conor Tarbell, 2 0-1-4; Keith Lockwood, 1 3-4-5. Totals: 16 8-15-44.
Oxford: Trevor Nelson, 5 0-0-11; Steve Locke, 3 4-4-10; Scott Seiler, 4 2-2-11; Wes Tynan, 0; Andrew Hubman, 0; Ben Burdick, 7 4-6-19; Kyle Smith, 0; Jeff Champlin, 0; Alex Champlin, 0; Trey Seifert, 2 0-0-4; John Witchella, 0; Hugh Witchella, 0. Totals: 21 10-12-55.
Aft. 10 15 8 11–44
Oxf. 2 13 23 17–55
Three-point goals: (O) Nelson, Seiler, Burdick, (A) Winans, Sanford 2, Rogler.
Unadilla Valley 56, Delhi 41
NEW BERLIN – Unadilla Valley’s Raffi Perry came alive in the middle two quarters scoring 19 of his season-high 21 points as UV extended a six-point first-quarter lead over Delhi to 24 points Friday.
The Storm defense allowed just two Delhi field goals in the first half, but needed a late first-half run to extend its lead into double digits. “It took us a while to get into a flow, and I think our pressure defense got to them,” said UV coach Matt Osborne. “Raffi was able to get loose, and he stepped up and hit some shots tonight.”
Matt Potter added nine points and 16 rebounds, and Perry pocketed five steals for UV (13-6).
Delhi: Devionne Price, 1 2-2-4; Eric Specht, 0; Trent Kathmann, 0 4-6-4; Pat O’Connell, 6 1-4-15; Luke Byrnes, 0; Nate Rockefeller, 2 3-4-7; Chad Rockefeller, 2 1-4-5; Riley Warren, 1 4-4-6. Totals: 12 15-24-41.
UV: Chris Stanford, 0; Mason Wyman, 4 1-2-9; Ryan Johnson, 1 1-2-3; Raffi Perry, 8 1-2-21; Josh Wright, 0; Juston Parks, 1 3-4-6; Tyson Smith, 0 2-2-2; Darrin Garcia, 1 0-0-2; Matt Harrington, 1 0-0-2; Jake Curtis, 0; Josh Rivenburgh, 1 0-0-2; Matt Potter, 3 3-4-9. Totals: 20 11-16-56.
Del. 4 9 11 17–41
UVa. 10 19 19 8–56
Fouled out: none. Three-point goals: (UV) Perry 4, Parks, (D) O’Connell 2. JV: Delhi won 46-31. Officials: Ploutz, Palmer.
Sherburne-Earlville 58, Mt. Markham 33
WEST WINFIELD – Sherburne-Earlville polished off its first 20-0 regular season, and have won 24 of its last 26 games dating back to late last season after Saturday’s road win.
Instead of allowing appoints to garner some hope of an upset, the Marauders allowed 64 total points defensively as they head into the Section III Class B playoffs with a number one seed. “We had to get that defensively intensity back before the playoffs,” said S-E coach Kevin Vibbard. “Never did I expect us to finish undefeated. I thought we’d win our share of games and win the division, but we played some good teams along the way.”
Vibbard noted wins over quality Class B and larger schools such as Westhill, Sidney, Norwich, and Rome Free Academy. “Those were our non-league games, so it wasn’t like we were ducking anyone. We won some tight games, and sometimes you need a little bit of luck to go undefeated.”
