Boys’ Basketball
Sherburne-Earlville 51, Mount Markham 46
WEST WINFIELD – A furious comeback over the final two minutes allowed Sherburne-Earlville to clinch just its second division title in 25 years, Thursday night at Mount Markham.
Down 45-38 with two minutes to play, S-E finished the game on a 13-1 run to secure the top spot in division one of the Center State Conference. “The kids really fought through, and it was a great win,” said S-E coach Kevin Vibard. “The kids really wanted to clinch the division tonight.”
It was spotless offensive play combined with lock-down defense that led to the late S-E rally. Jesse Yerton hit a three ball drawing the Marauders to within 45-41 with two minutes left. One possession later, Randy Briggs provided the reward for a defensive stop pumping in a trifecta to slice the margin to one. Another defensive hold later, Yerton gave S-E the lead for keeps sinking a trey with 50 seconds left.
The Mustangs’ only answer was a single free throw with 34 seconds left. Down the stretch, Sam Caton and Paul Romanenko canned 4-of-4 from the foul line.
“They were really packing in their zone and daring us to shoot outside,” Vibbard said. “We had not made a lot of shots before then, but we have some good shooters, and we want our shooters to shoot.”
Caton and Yerton each had 12 points apiece for S-E (11-3), who host Ilion on Tuesday.
S-E: Randy Briggs, 3 0-0-7; Carter Cole, 0; Jesse Yerton, 4 0-0-12; Sam Caton, 4 4-5-12; Paul Romanenko, 1 2-2-4; Cole Hodges, 1 0-0-2; Mick Khoury, 0; Austin Jasper, 2 1-5-5; Matt Smith, 3 2-3-9. Totals: 18 9-15-51.
MM: James Beck, 0; Larry Hammill, 0; Ben Maxon, 3 2-2-10; Travis Nelson, 0; Jalen Hubbard, 3 0-0-6; Nate Hudson, 0; Josh Holtham, 3 0-0-7; Austin Kobler, 1 0-0-2; Josh Diehl, 8 5-8-21. Totals: 18 7-10-46.
S-E 18 7 13 13–51
MM 11 15 10 10–46
Fouled out: (M) Diehl. Three-point goals: (SE) Briggs, Yerton 4, Smith. (M) Maxon 2, Holtham. JV: S-E won 38-35.
Oxford 61, Afton 47
AFTON – Oxford won its fifth straight game Thursday and seventh in eight outings getting a game-high 25 points from Andrew Golden, and a season-high 12 from Ryan Moore.
Golden was particularly effective in the second quarter scoring 12 points as the Blackhawks (7-1, 8-5) raised their lead to 34-16 at the intermission. “We played really good defense holding them to 16 points in the first half, and we ran the ball up and down the floor better in the second quarter,” said Oxford coach Tim Davis.
Afton double-teamed Golden most of the second half, and Moore was the beneficiary putting away several layups on back-door cuts to the hoop. Since a one-point defeat to Bainbridge-Guilford six games ago, Oxford has won its last five games by nearly 13 points per game. “I think we’re coming around as far as balance and players knowing their roles,” Davis said. “We’re just struggling with injuries. It makes it difficult to have a consistent lineup.”
Cameron Oswald and Mitch Decker accounted for all but five of Afton’s points. Oswald had a game-high 27, and Decker poured in 15.
Oxford: Justin Schray, 2 2-2-7; Ryan Moore, 6 0-1-12; Andrew Golden, 9 5-6-25; Paul Wonka, 0; Kevin Davis, 3 3-4-9; Eric Dilfer, 4 0-2-8; Corey Olsen, 0. Totals: 24 10-15-61.
Afton: Josh Davy, , Ricky Parsons, 1 0-2-3, James Westfall, 1 0-1-2, George Salinas, 0, Mitch Decker, 5 5-7-15, Cameron Oswald, 11 4-6-27, Darien Heath, 0; Ben Shearer, 0. Totals 18 6-9-47.
Oxf. 12 22 15 12–61
Aft. 8 8 19 12–47
Fouled out: none. Three-point goals: (O) Golden 2, Schray. (A) Parsons, Oswald. JV: Oxford won 59-51 in OT.
Girls’ Basketball
Oxford 42, Afton 19
