Oxford’s Kyle Benjamin (#22) tries to hang on to the ball with a Unatego defender reaching for it. Oxford defeated the Spartans 65-46. (Photo by Morgan Golliver)

OXFORD – Despite coming off a tough loss to Delhi, the Oxford Blackhawks boys basketball team has won seven out of their last eight games, including Saturday’s 65-46 victory over Unatego-Franklin. The win against the Spartans moves Oxford into third place of the MAC and shakes up the middle of the standings, where the fourth seed could be anybody’s with the Spartans, Sidney, Deposit-Hancock, and B-G still fighting for the spot with under five games left to play in the regular season.

Oxford dominated in the first quarter alone, where they were off to a hot start with 26 points to take a 26-8 lead. From there, the team continued to play a strong front, even with the Spartans getting back on track offensively.

The Blackhawks caught the Spartans off guard with long passes deep, especially from Gordon Smith and Ben Sheridan to Donovan Rickard, who beat everyone to the basket. Overall, Oxford built a comfortable lead and did not lose their momentum at any point in the contest, continuing to succeed with the three-point shooting with a total of seven.

Donovan Rickard led the Blackhawks with 18 points with two threes. He paced himself with scoring seven points in both the first and third quarters.