NEW HOPE — If Friday’s Division 2-5A championship game had been 31 minutes long, instead of 32, the Oxford Chargers would be champions rather than the New Hope Trojans. Unable to score in the final 3 minutes and 23 seconds, the Chargers lost their five-point lead and ultimately the game, 45-44, to the Trojans in front of a jubilant crowd in the NHS gym.
New Hope, which won the game with a driving layup from senior Chris Mosley with 3.8 seconds left, will host Yazoo City Tuesday in the first elimination game of the Class 5A playoffs. Oxford, meanwhile, will travel to play at Canton on Tuesday night at 7:30.
For OHS coach Drew Tyler, the reason why his team was unable to hold on and capture the title revolved around his team playing not to lose rather than to win.
