GREENCASTLE — A 9-1 run to open the fourth quarter by New Oxford proved to be just enough of a cushion for the Colonials.

Greencastle-Antrim made a valiant comeback attempt, but fell just short in a 67-66 defeat to NO in a District 3 Class 5A first round boys basketball game Monday at G-A.

Dez Holman

The No. 10 seed Colonials got off to a good start in the first half and never trailed in the game, but the No. 7 Blue Devils hung around and made it a tight contest later in the fourth quarter.

Greencastle (18-6) will face No. 15 seed Manheim Central (8-11), 64-44 losers to Hershey, in a consolation round game at home Thursday at 7 p.m. The Colonials (17-6) play at No. 2 Hershey (20-2) on Thursday in a quarterfinal.

New Oxford built a 12-point lead by halftime (37-25), but Greencastle outscored NO 19-11 in third to get back to within 4 at 48-44.

Greencastle coach Todd Stephens said, “In the first half, we got out-fought, out-hustled and out-rebounded, but in the second half we were us again. They played physical and tough on the ball and we had to adjust.”

But to open the fourth quarter, the Colonials got a basket by Brady Holmes, and two in a row by Braydon Billman after G-A turnovers. After a free throw by Alex Albright, Parker James nailed a 3-pointer to jump New Oxford’s lead to 57-45.

“They made a lot of effort plays when we had a guy there,” Stephens said. “We gutted it out better on those types of plays in the second half.”

NO still led by 12 at 61-49 after Billman broke the press for a layup. But then the Blue Devils’ Ryan Schick hit a three, G-A made a steal and Schick hit another, and then after another turnover, Dez Holman popped in a 3-pointer, making it 61-58 with 2:20 left.

Billman hit a tough shot in traffic, matched by two free throws by Holman, then Tanner Haugh banged in a clutch three with 0:35 left to increase the lead to 66-60. Cooper Green followed in a miss for a bucket, was fouled and made the and-one to get G-A to within 66-63 with 22 seconds remaining.

With 0:07 left, Billman made the second of two foul shots, which made a 3-pointer by Holman meaningless in the end.

Stephens said, “We shared the ball better in the second half, and we got paint touches and kick-outs from that. And then we hit a couple of threes in transition to get us back in there.”

Holman, a freshman, finished with a career-high 25 points. Schick produced 16 points and Green added 11.

For New Oxford, Holmes scored 18, Billman 15 and Haugh 12.

“It was a great experience for our guys,” Stephens said. “They started five seniors and we started one, and I’m sure we learned a few things tonight.”

New Oxford 67, Greencastle 66
NEW OXFORD
Braydon Billman 6 2-5 15, Parker James 3 0-0 9, Owen MacGregor 4 1-2 9, Luke Frey 2 0-0 4, Tanner Haugh 5 0-0 12, Brady Holmes 8 0-0 18. Totals 28 3-7 67.
GREENCASTLE
Dez Holman 7 9-11 25, Alex Albright 2 3-4 8, Landen Swain 1 0-0 2, Bryce Davidson 1 0-0 2, Camden Eby 1 0-0 2, Ryan Schick 5 4-4 16, Cooper Green 3 5-6 11. Totals 20 21-25 66.
New Oxford         22     15     11     19     —     67
Greencastle         12     13     19     22     —     66
3-point shots — NO 8 (James 3, Haugh 2, Holmes 2, Billman); GA 5 (Holman 2, Schick 2, Albright).