By Jenny Matteson
Leader Staff Writer

The Oxford b-ballers are preparing for a tough game against Holly this Friday after accepting a split this past week with a 63-39 loss to Linden on Friday and a 51-38 win against Fenton.
To date the team’s record is 3-8 overall and 2-3 in the Flint Metro League.
Head coach Steve Laidlaw said the two teams are evenly matched for the Winterfest game. But the Oxford shooters will have to stay on their toes to keep ahead.
“(Holly’s) quick,” he stated. “We’ve got to keep up with their press and stay forward.”
“It will be an exciting night, we’re going to play hard.”
The game follows a great win against Fenton.
“We played really well, this is probably the best we have played all year,” said an excited Laidlaw.
Leading the Wildcats for the night were Ryan Stull with 19 points and four assists, and Andrew Bukoski with 17 points and nine rebounds.
Other top players included Bryan Mattack with seven assists, Caesy Mick with four rebounds and four points, and Chris Keener with four rebounds and two steels.
On last Friday, the team slowed down in the second quarter for a loss to Linden.
“We just played poorly right at the end of the second period defensively,” said Laidlaw. “The game went from there.”
At halftime the Wildcats sat five points below Linden at 22-17 after behind ahead at the end of first period 12-10.
During the second half, the Oxford players missed several lay ups and gave Linden several turnovers in the third quarter.
“We just missed a lot of opportunities,” concluded Laidlaw. “I think we were intimidated by their size a little.”
Scoring for the night were Stull with 10 points, Bukoski with eight, Keener with seven, Mattack with six and Jeff Preutz with two.