“What a crazy game,” Cox said. “I heard coach (Jeff Davidson) in my ear telling me I was going to bang it and I knew it was going in when I released it.”
Cox’s 3 was part of a wild scramble down the stretch as Brookville improved to 12-1 overall and 6-1 in the Southwestern Buckeye League Southwestern Division.
The Blue Devils led 30-22 with 7:44 remaining, but Oakwood came back behind eight straight points from Connor Dinkler and a 3 from Mark Lauterbach to take a 31-30 lead.
The teams swapped the lead four more times in the final 1:36.
Oakwood led 36-34 on a short jumper off a missed free throw by Brenan Talarczyk with 48 seconds remaining. The lead lasted less than 30 seconds as Cox buried his 3 to give the Blue Devils the lead for good, 37-36 with 19 seconds left.
“I don’t even know what to think about what transpired at the end of the game,” Davidson said. “It’s tough to play here, but Cody stepped up and hit that monster shot.”
It looked early like Brookville was going to run away from Oakwood (8-6, 3-4).
The Blue Devils, behind a pair of 3s by Cox, built a 10-0 lead, but Oakwood closed the half with a 6-0 run and got within 15-14 on a basket by Andrew Neff as time expired.
“We didn’t adjust to their length and quickness right away and we had problems,” Oakwood coach Paul Stone said. “Defensively, I thought we played a lot better from there on out.
“We were good enough at times, but not good enough to get the deal done.”
Oakwood opened the second half with a 5-0 run to take its first lead, 19-15, but Dalton Stewart nailed a pair of 3s as part of a 13-0 run to close the third quarter with Brookville up 28-19.
“We told the kids we are chasing perfection,” Davidson said. “We have a very good group of guys and they understand they will never be perfect.
“When you come here, it is never perfect, it is always an ugly, brawl style and I am happy we pulled it out. It will go a long way for us.”
Cox led Brookville with 14 points while Stewart added 12.
Dinkler was the lone Lumberjack in double figures, finishing with 19.
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