Team finishes the season at 21-2
By Jim Newell
Managing Editor
jnewell@mihomepaper.com
LAPEER — The Oxford varsity boys basketball team had a record-breaking season, recording the best start in school history and going 21-1 heading into the playoffs on Wednesday.

That run came to an end on Feb. 26 when the Wildcats lost 49-42 to the Davison Cardinals in the MHSAA District 26 boys basketball semifinal at Lapeer High School.
Oxford finished the season at 21-2 and were Oakland Activities Association White Division champions. The Wildcats set records this season for more consecutive wins to start the season, after their 14th straight win marked the best start in school history, and were 18-0 until their first loss, 72-67, on Feb. 11 to Notre Dame Prep.
Oxford senior Jake Champagne tied Oxford’s all-time scoring record with his 1,120th career point during a 75-40 win over Anchor Bay on Dec. 6, and then broke the record two days later against Grosse Pointe North.
Junior Brennan Elling tied the school record for most three-pointers in a game at eight on Jan. 14 in a 54-40 win over Stoney Creek.
In the district playoffs, Davison reached the semifinals after a quarterfinal win over Lapeer High School. Oxford earned a first-round bye.
Champagne got the Wildcats on the board with a pass from senior Luke Stoffan with 5:57 to play in the first quarter. By the end of the quarter, Oxford held a 10-9 lead.
The Wildcats came out strong to start the second quarter, with Champagne sinking a shot to make it 12-9, and junior Brennan Elling getting his own offensive rebound on the next play and scoring two more points for the 14-9 lead.

With 3:41 left in the first half, Elling then hit a long three-pointer from the right side of the court to put Oxford up 17-11. Davison’s Cortez Porter hit a three-point shot with 32.6 seconds left in the half to close Oxford’s lead to three, 20-17, but Champagne then hit a three-pointer off a pass from Nolan Mauser at the buzzer to give Oxford the 23-17 lead going into halftime.
There was a lot of back-and-forth play between the teams until with 2:37 left in the third quarter Davison brought the game to within one point, 27-26. Less than a minute later Davison took the lead for the first time since the first quarter, making a two-point basket and going up 30-29.
There were several lead changes in the final minute-and-a-half of the third, with baskets by Champagne and Stoffan. The third quarter ended with Oxford up 33-32.
With 5:54 left in the game and down by one point, Davison hit a shot to go up 37-36. The Cardinals never relinquished the lead after that basket and went up 44-36 with three minutes to play.

The Wildcats fought back and closed the gap to two, 44-42, when senior Drew Cady made a basket. Cady was fouled on the shot but missed his shots at the free throw line.
The Wildcats efforts to score were thwarted by missed shots and turnovers in the final minutes of play, and Davison held the ball, forcing Oxford to foul and send the Cardinals to the free throw line.
Champagne had 25 points in the game for Oxford. Stoffan scored 6 points, Mauser had 4 points, Elling added 5 points and Cady had 2 points to round out the Wildcats’ scoring.
The Wildcats uncharacteristically made only 43% of their free throw attempts in the game, going 6-for-14 at the line.
Davison lost 72-60 to Grand Blanc in the district final on Friday.