By Megan Kelley
Staff Writer
OXFORD TWP. — Oxford High School’s field house was packed to the brim with excited fans of both OHS and Lake Orion High School ready to see a head-to-head 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 hit 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 extended 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, 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 themselves, 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 managing 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 52-49.
Champagne led the Wildcats with 26 points followed by Nolan Mauser with seven points and Luke Stoffan with six.
The Oxford boys end their regular season 11-3 in the OAA Blue division and 14-8 overall.
The Wildcats start district play this week at 5:30 p.m. on Feb. 28 against Grand Blanc at Grand Blanc High School.