Web posted
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
Oxford hangs on to defeat South Haven boys
By MIKE JOSEPH
Traveler Correspondent
OXFORD -- Bryce Mayes' rebound of his own missed free throw with less than six seconds remaining keyed a come from behind 51-47 Wildcat win over the South Haven Cardinals Tuesday night.
With Oxford holding a slim 48-47 lead, Mayes was fouled by Kalen Fitch with 8.5 seconds left. Mayes hit the first free throw. His second attempt hit off the front of the rim. Mayes stepped in and grabbed the long rebound and was quickly fouled. Mayes hit the first attempt, putting the Wildcats up 50-47, prompting a South Haven timeout in an attempt to ice the shooter and diagram a final play. Mayes put the game out of reach, converting his second charity toss.
Fitch took the inbound pass and dribbled into the front court before launching a desperation three-pointer and attempting to draw a foul but was called for an offensive charge with less than a second left in the game.
In a see-saw battle that saw both teams trade leads throughout the contest, Oxford took an early 11-5 lead midway through the first period. South Haven clawed back to trail 11-10 after one quarter, highlighted by a three-pointer by Patrick Curl, coming off the bench for South Haven.
Oxford extended the lead to 23-16 with 3:08 left in the half on a three pointer by sophomore Bryce Carter and led 25-19 heading into the break. Carter scored 10 of his 15 points in the half for the Wildcats.
South Haven put an 8-0 run together to start the third period and led 27-25 behind a three pointer by Yunker and a pair of field goals and the traditional three point play by Fitch with 6:02 showing on the clock.
After the Wildcats tied the game at 27, Yunker drove the baseline and found Jordan Creed inside for a basket and foul. Creed completed the three-point-play putting South Haven back up 30-27.
Senior Brad Potucek led a 9-4 run by the Wildcats, scoring six points down the stretch, as the Wildcats regained the lead 36-34 heading into the final period.
Jake Parcher put the Cardinals back in front 37-36 with a three from the top of the key to open the fourth quarter. Mayes answered with a 12-foot jumper for Oxford. Creed and Davidson combined to give the Cardinals a three point lead, 41-38 midway through the quarter.
A pair of fast break layups by Carter and Nick Hampton put Oxford ahead 42-41 with 3:47 left. Yunker's wide-open three pointer from the left baseline put the Cardinals up a pair 44-42 with 3:08 left. Carter's steal and layup knotted the contest with 2:47 on the clock.
Fitch gave South Haven a 47-44 lead on a three from the left wing with just over two minutes showing. Mayes scored on a runner pulling Oxford within a point 47-46 with 1:55 remaining.
South Haven went into their delay game and trimmed the clock down to 47-seconds when Potucek fouled Davidson. Davidson missed the front end of the one-and-one. Potucek scored on the other end with 25-seconds left, giving the Wildcats a lead they would not relinquish.
"It was a good game for us, especially with regionals coming up," said South Haven coach Darren McDorman. "It's tough to beat a team three times in a season. We gave ourselves a chance to win."
Mayes led all scorers with 16 points for Oxford. Carter had 15 and Potucek scored 14 and hauled down a team high 10 rebounds for the Wildcats. Creed had a double-double for the Cardinals, scoring a team high 11 and grabbed 12 rebounds. Yunker was also in double figures with 10 points.
South Haven (14-5) closes out the regular season Friday at Elk Valley.
SOUTH HAVEN 10 9 15 13 -- 47
OXFORD 11 14 11 15 -- 51
South Haven -- Creed 11, Yunker 10, Fitch 8. Spencer 5, Davidson 5, Parcher 3, Curl 3, Blaylock 2.
Oxford -- Mayes 16, Carter 15, Potucek 14, Hampton 6.
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