DOWNSVILLE – After a three-way tie for sixth place in the boys’ MAC league standings, the league broke the tie by a drawing, where Oxford was then chosen eighth. Oxford, the eighth seed in the MAC playoffs, traveled to Walton/Downsville on Tuesday, where they fell 63-51. Despite the loss, Oxford fought to the finish with getting closer to the lead in the second half.

Both teams showed their strengths early on in the contest with Walton/Downsville, who lost to Norwich the night before, posted 25 points in the first quarter, which helped them take a 10-point lead at halftime. Oxford came close to taking the lead in the second half with only being down by three near the end of the third quarter. However, the Warriors cut them off and secure the victory.

Oxford was led by Caden Rifanburg, who scored a team-high 15 points with two three’s. Ben Sheridan and Donovan Rickard both had 10 points each. Sheridan and Rifanburg added most of their points in the first quarter in attempt to match Walton/Downsville’s strong efforts. Rickard added all 10 points in the final eight minutes with two three-pointers.

Oxford will face Unatego/Franklin on Thursday in the final game of the 2023-2024 season.

Scores by quarter:

OX 16 9 12 14–51

W/D 25 10 10 18–63

OX: Caden Rifanburg 15, Ben Sheridan 10, Donovan Rickard 10, Jared Sheridan 9, Eli Bennett 5, Kyle Benjamin 2.

W/D: Tyler Reed 18, Landen Stanton 14, London Gardner 10, Colby Phraner 9, Seth Hunter 8, Anthony Soto 4.

Three-pointers: OX 5 (Rifanburg 2, Rickard 2, Bennett); W/D 10 (Reed 6, Gardner 2, Hunter 2).