The Oxford Pirates will wrap up 2023 with a road trip to face off against the Nipmuc Regional Warriors at 2:30 p.m. on Friday.
Last Monday, Oxford was the victim of a tough 71-47 loss at the hands of Prouty. The loss unfortunately continues a disappointing trend for Oxford in their matchups with Prouty: they've now lost three in a row.
The losing side was boosted by Brady Marqoupis, who scored 15 points. He scored a full 31.9% of Oxford's points, the fourth time in a row he's earned more than a third of the team's points. Another player making a difference was Nolan Remington, who scored ten points.
Meanwhile, it may have taken overtime to finish the job, but Nipmuc Regional ultimately got the result they hoped for on Wednesday. They snuck past Northbridge with a 76-70 win. The win was just what Nipmuc Regional needed coming off of a 71-50 defeat in their prior matchup.
Nipmuc Regional's win was a true team effort, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was James McKinney, who scored 19 points. Those 19 points set a new season-high mark for him. Logan DeMarzo was another key contributor, scoring 15 points.
Oxford's loss dropped their record down to 1-3. As for Nipmuc Regional, their victory ended a three-game drought on the road dating back to last season and puts them at 3-1.
Some high-performance offense is likely on the agenda as the pair are some of the highest scoring teams in the league. Oxford hasn't had any problem running up the score this season, having only averaged 52.8 points per game. It's a different story for Nipmuc Regional, though, as they've been averaging only 63.5 points per game. With both teams so easily able to put up points, the only question left is who can run the score up higher.
Oxford suffered a grim 55-35 defeat to Nipmuc Regional in their previous meeting back in January of 2020. Can Oxford avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
