School records tied, broken
By Joseph Goral
Staff Writer
jgoral@mihomepaper.com
The Oxford boys varsity basketball team is having a season for the record books.
The Wildcats are 16-0, are currently in first place in the OAA white, and have won each of their games by at least 13 points. Their 14th straight win marked the best start in school history.
It also means the Wildcats already achieved one of their season goals, according to Head Coach Joe Fedorinchik – to have no more than nine losses the entire season.
Both Fedorinchik and senior captain Luke Stoffan said the team’s chemistry on and off the court is the biggest reason for Oxford’s success.
Stoffan said the team is always laughing and having a good time when together, whether it is at practice or elsewhere.
“Basketball is a tough sport because only one guy can have the basketball,” Fedorinchik said. “But that chemistry helps. Luke Stoffan would probably rather dish to Brennan (Elling) for a three then hit a three himself. The kids enjoy that. There’s no egos.”
Fedorinchik recalled a tough win in a game against Rochester last season where senior Jake Champagne, who averages 22 points this season, scored eight. Despite scoring under 10 points, Fedorinchik said Champagne was as happy as anyone in the locker room after the game.
Stoffan said he and other players have been friends for a long time, and activities away from the court, including team dinners, help their play.
Experience is a theme that carried over to this season as well. Stoffan added he has played with most of his teammates since elementary school and middle school.
Plus, 12 of the Wildcats’ 14 players are juniors and seniors – several having played multiple years of varsity basketball.
Stoffan also said everyone plays their roles well. Whether it is shooting three-pointers or defending “I think everyone does their job.”
The second most significant reason Fedorinchik gave is the teams’ defense. He told the Oxford Leader on Jan. 3 his team is challenging itself to see how many games they can a hold a team under 40 total points.
The challenge was inspired by a stretch of five games in March of 2004 when the Detroit Pistons prevented their opponents from reaching 70 points in a game. Fedorinchik said he showed the Wildcats videos of this Pistons team, and said they loved it.

“We all like to play defense,” Stoffan said. “I don’t think a lot of teams, maybe, have five guys on the court who all want to play defense all the time.”
Oxford have held their opponents under 40 points in eight games.
Of course, having good individual defenders helps as well. Fedorinchik called senior Nolan Mauser the team’s best defender who “thrives on guarding the opposing teams best player.” Mauser averages five rebounds and four assists to go along with five points each game.
Another “excellent” defender and one of the team’s best rebounders is senior Drew Cady, who grabs five each game while scoring six points.
“He’s a perfect example of why we’re having the success we’re having this year,” Fedorinchik said. “He does all the little things, and has been the ultimate teammate.”
Stoffan, who averages four rebounds, is also one of Oxford’s best defenders this season. Offensively, Stoffan scores 11 points, earns five assists per game, and shoots 35% from beyond the three-point line.
Fedorinchik said Stoffan took a “significant leap since last year.”
“Luke is often overlooked but he may be our most valuable player on a nightly basis,” Fedorinchik said.
Senior Luke Diegel saw a career high in points, 11, on Jan. 24 against Oak Park. Diegel made all three of his three-point attempts.
Champagne set his own record this season when he became the school’s all-time leading scorer. Champagne tied the record on Dec. 6, in the second half a 75-40 win against Anchor Bay at Oxford High School.
Champagne’s 22nd point on the night gave him 1,120 in his career.
“That’s been a goal of mine since freshman year,” Champagne said after the game. “So finally catching it, it feels good.”
Champagne leads the Wildcats in scoring this season. He also grabs seven rebounds and tallies three assists each game.
Junior Brennan Elling also had a historic performance during the Wildcats’ on Jan. 14. Elling made eight three-point shots against Stoney Creek – tying the record for most three-point shots made by a Wildcat in a single game – a record that was set by Joe Fedorinchik’s brother, Mike Fedorinchik, in 1991.
Elling is shooting 40% from beyond the three-point line this season, and averages 13 points per game.

“His ability to stretch the defense out has made life so much easier for Jake and Luke,” Fedorinchik said, adding Elling’s growth since the summer has played a major role in the team’s performance.
As a team, the wildcats were one possession away from winning their league last season, and likely three from winning it by themselves after losing to Avondale twice in one possession games.
Fedorinchik believes these losses fueled Oxford’s seniors
“If you look up at the banner board in the high school, there’s not many accolades for Oxford basketball,” he said. “There’s been a couple recently, we had a really good run in 2019, but other than that, that board is very sparse.”
“We refer back to that board,” he added. “That’s kind of our motivation – we want to hang numbers on there.”
Fedorinchik said his team played good teams over the summer, ultimately setting the stage for this season. Another goal for Oxford is to beat Lake Orion again who Fedorinchik said is in the Wildcat’s way of another goal – to win a league championship.
“The league is obviously the one we really want,” he said. “And then, hey, we’ve got one district championship in the last thirty-some years. I told the kids that’s the goal. I know it doesn’t happen often, but we’ve lost to Grand Blanc the last three years in districts, and beating Grand Blanc would be the ultimate cap.”
Stoffan said the Wildcats are also looking to beat the 2019 team’s record of most wins in a season.
Even with all of their goals and accomplishments so far this season, Fedorinchik said the team is focused on one game at a time.
The Wildcat’s next home game is against Birmingham Seaholm on Friday at 7 p.m.