By Randy Whitehouse,Staff Writer

FARMINGTON – Oxford Hills was all about second chances during Friday night’s game with KVAC rival Mt. Blue.

The Vikings converted a ton of second chances off the offensive boards into a double-digit lead early in the second half, then gave the Cougars another chance to get back into the game late in the fourth quarter. The one constant for Oxford Hills was solid defense, though, and that, along with some clutch shooting from Matt McDonnell, ultimately made the difference in a 42-36 win.

McDonnell dropped in three 3-pointers on his way to 19 points and collected eight rebounds to lead the Vikings, who improved to 13-3. Ted Neil had 18 points to pace the Cougars (10-7).

Oxford Hills came out firing in the first quarter. Four different Vikings made 3-pointers as they jumped out to a 17-7 lead. They lost their shooting touch in the second quarter (2-for-16) but more than made up for it by crashing the offensive glass (14 for the half), which allowed the Vikes to take 14 more shots in the half than the Cougars on their way to a 25-17 lead at the intermission.

“(Rebounding) was a killer. That was obviously a point of emphasis at halftime,” Mt. Blue coach Jim Bessey said. “Those guys (Oxford Hills), they’re all seniors. They’re veterans and they’re big, strong, athletic kids.”

The Cougars were fortunate the Vikings didn’t pull away in the third quarter. They missed all 11 shots from the field and added only four Neil free throws to the scoreboard, yet Oxford Hills was only able to add two points to its lead by the end of the period.

“We played pretty well defensively,” Oxford Hills coach Scott Graffam said. “If you defend, you’ll always have a chance because your offense is going to come and go.”

After taking care of the ball extremely well in the first half (three turnovers), the Vikings struggled with the halfcourt trap Mt. Blue unveiled in the fourth quarter. A couple of turnovers led to a Neil hoop inside and an Isaiah Brathwaite trey that pulled the Cougars within 5 midway through the fourth.

“I really don’t understand it,” Graffam said. “We have good basketball players, but they didn’t get in the right spots. They didn’t make very good decisions. Our guards got picked two or three times right in a row. It was bad, bad basketball in the last three minutes for us.”

“Fortunately, we have Matt McDonnell,” he added. “He’s going to make foul shots and he’s going to make a couple of 3s.”

Coming out of a timeout, Mt. Blue extended its trap full court, but the Vikings found McDonnell in the left corner for a big trey that made it 37-29. The senior added a layup and two free throws in the final 2:30 to preserve the victory.

“We held a great team to 42 points. Offensively, we just need someone to step up and help Ted a little bit,” Bessey said. “We’ve got to find someone that’s going to make a jump shot from the perimeter on a consistent basis.”