The New Oxford boys' basketball team had a solid campaign in 2007-08, finishing 16-8. They would have had a decent shot at qualifying for the PIAA tournament if they hadn't run into a hot York Suburban team fresh off a run to the YAIAA title game in the first round of the District 3 Class AAA tournament.
Even though All-Star Derick Gallaher (above) graduated, the Colonials return most of their top players, including guards Ryan Luckenbaugh and Evan Stoltzfoos and 6-foot-8 center Carson Miller and looked poised to have an even more successful year. The problem is, the Colonials lost three of their first four games, including a 54-point defeat against William Penn.
Part of it is tough scheduling. New Oxford had to face two of the top teams in the league in Red Lion and William Penn early on. But there is another major element at play according to coach Jim Zinn.
"I think the big thing for us is we have a lot of three sport athletes in our school," Zinn said. "Early on, every season we see them do this. As the season grows, guys are going to start jelling it a little more. You have some schools like York High and Red Lion where these guys are playing together all summer long and most of them through the fall, where we have pretty much all our starting five playing fall sports. Our first seven, actually."
The Colonials rebounded nicely on Monday with a 71-59 victory over Dallastown and can get back to .500 with a home victory over Susquehannock tonight.
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