December 12, 2021
By Al Muskewitz
East Alabama Sports Today
Oxford checks all the important boxes in beating Hartselle to snap four-game losing streak
RAINSVILLE – The Oxford basketball team checked a lot boxes Saturday, and not just pizza boxes at the Domino’s Classic.
Scored points – check. Played good defense – continued check. Won a game – big, bold check.
The Yellow Jackets snapped a four-game winning streak here with a 53-42 win over Hartselle in the opening game of the Domino’s Classic at the DeKalb County School Coliseum.
It’s the most points they’d scored in a game since a 69-59 win over Plainview, the event’s host school that is the next property over from this building.
“It shows you the resilience of your team,” Oxford coach Joel VanMeter said. “You saw the resiliency in this group who had lost four games. Let’s be honest, they weren’t four bad opponents, we just lost four straight games. And I think this group gets how a basketball season is, kind of the ebb and flow, and they proved it tonight by coming out defending, rebounding and they were very good against the zone being strong with the ball.
“Look, I’m miserable losing four straight; I know they’re miserable. They were able to keep a positive outlook and they were able to keep their head up and chin held high. They knew who we were and we were able to come out and prove it.”
The Jackets lost to some pretty good teams during the losing streak – Huffman, Hoover, Springville and Pinson Valley – and they weren’t getting blown out doing it. They never gave up more than 57 points in any of the losses, they just couldn’t score enough themselves.
One of the biggest missing pieces to it all was a post presence to take some of the pressure off Rylan Houck and be around to gather up some rebounds when their outside shot isn’t falling. Ashton Mitchell, a junior who hadn’t played any varsity minutes before this season, and to a lesser degree freshman Jayden Lewis gave them that presence around the rim, especially defensively, on this day.
Mitchell scored eight points, but he grabbed 10 rebounds and blocked three shots. Lewis scored only two points, but he grabbed six rebounds and took a charge. The Jackets had at least 14 offensive rebounds. [**read more]
**When you click read more you will be taken to the EA Sports Today website. Please make sure to come back to read more Calhoun County News.
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