Greene’s Joel Vielandi tries to get past Oxford’s Donovan Rickard. Vielandi led the Trojans with 20 points in the 53-45 win. (Photo by Morgan Golliver)

GREENE – Both the Oxford Blackhawks and the Greene Trojans boys' basketball teams have seen some close games recently and it was finally time to face one another in Friday's league match-up. Greene, who has been on the winning side of some of those tight games, defeated their neighboring opponent 53-45.

It was Greene's fourth straight win after coming through against Windsor, Bainbridge-Guilford, and Unatego/Franklin in the previous games. Oxford had fallen to Sidney and now Greene in tough games.

Both teams came out strong to start the contest before Oxford was held without a single point in the second quarter, leaving the Trojans with full control and a 25-15 lead at halftime. Greene played consistently in the second half while the Blackhawks stepped up to make up for being shutout, but the efforts were not enough. Both teams also had chances at the free-throw line where Greene held the overall advantage of making 11-of-17 free-throws as Oxford went 5-for-13 at the line, something that could have only helped them get closer in the end.

Joel Vielandi and Jaden Eroshevich paved the way for the Greene offense. Vielandi led the Trojans with 20 points with his best eight points in the third quarter and made all but one free-throw in his seven chances. Jaden Eroshevich followed pursuit with 19 points, including seven points in the fourth quarter and went six-for-eight at the foul line. Will Dunlap and Colin Colgan both finished with four points in the win.

Oxford's Caden Rifanburg scored a team-high of 16 points as Donovan Rickard had a better second half with nine points in the loss.

Greene improves to 5-3 and is currently undefeated in the MAC at 3-0 behind Delhi. Greene hosts non-league opponent Oneonta on Tuesday at 7:15 p.m. Oxford drops to 3-7 on the season and hosts Afton on Tuesday at 7:15 p.m.

Scores by quarter:

OX 15 0 13 17–45

GR 13 12 15 13–53

OX: Caden Rifanburg 16, Donovan Rickard 9, Ben Sheridan 6, Eli Bennett 4, Jared Sheridan 4, Sam Hendricks 4, Kyle Benjamin 2.

GR: Joel Vielandi 20, Jaden Eroshevich 19, Will Dunlap 4, Colin Colgan 4, Keaton Browning 2, Kloden Rapp 2, Lincoln Youngs 2.

Three-pointers: OX 2 (Rifanburg, Rickard); GR 3 (Vielandi 2, Eroshevich).