OTEGO – After a close battle with Delhi, the Oxford Blackhawks boys' basketball team came to play against Unatego/Franklin. While the Spartans have been tough on many of the local teams, Oxford pushed through in the second half to achieve a 70-52 victory. While it hasn't been an easy season, the Blackhawks are showing constant improvements.

The game was tied at 25 all at halftime, leaving the crowd on the edge of their seats, knowing the second half would be just as competitive. Oxford was much prepared coming out for the second half, firing in 22 points in the third and 23 in the fourth and never looked back. Unatego/Franklin tried to match efforts in the final eight minutes, but Oxford was too strong.

Oxford had four stand-out players in the contest reach double-digit scoring, including Caden Rifanburg's leading 19 points with 14 of those points coming in the second half alone. Freshman Ben Sheridan excelled with 17 points, including eight of the team's 13 points in the second quarter. Donovan Rickard added 11 points as Sam Hendricks banked in two threes for 10 points.

Oxford (5-8) heads to Marathon this evening in a non-league match-up. The game is scheduled for 7:15 p.m.

Scores by quarter:

OX 12 13 22 23–70

UN 8 17 9 18–52

OX: Caden Rifanburg 19, Ben Sheridan 17, Donovan Rickard 11, Sam Hendricks 10, Jared Sheridan 8, Eli Bennett 5.

UN: Braeden Johnson 18, Reese James 13, Xander Johnson 11, Rashad Kiel 6, Chase Birdsall 3.

Three-pointers: OX 4 (Hendricks 2, Rifanburg, B Sheridan); UN 3 (X Johnson 2, James).