By Liz Keller / Scrimmageplay.com correspondent
DILLWYN– Buckingham County is starting to peak at just the right time and Wednesday night’s non-district game against Goochland proved to be a good tune-up for the Knights heading into two big James River District matchups next week.
Buckingham used its balanced attack and a fourth-quarter surge to come away with the 61-43 win on senior night.
“I told my kids, you learn to put games away and we did that tonight,” Buckingham coach Russ Gowin said. “Pulling away in that fourth quarter was the difference. We’re learning to play the right way and we’re starting to play smarter and we’re getting there.”
The Knights, who donned pink uniforms in honor of breast cancer awareness night, led by as many as 18 in the first half thanks in part to the play of Landon Allen. The sharpshooter hit three consecutive 3-pointers to open the game and drained another at the end of the first quarter to give Buckingham a 17-9 advantage. Allen paced Buckingham with 19 points.
The Knights (11-4) continued to extend the lead and clamped down defensively, as Kevin Bolden kept Goochland big man Corbin Jackson in check. The visitors pulled within 15 by halftime as James Brooks banked in a 3-pointer at the buzzer.
The Bulldogs (3-10), however, fought their way back, and cut the deficit to five with 1:31 to play in the third. Jackson took over during that stretch, scoring 10 points and grabbing six rebounds in the frame. The 6-foot-6 sophomore led all scorers with 20 points, including 14 in the second half, and finished with 10 rebounds, two blocks and a pair of steals.
“You’ve got to give the Jackson kid a lot of credit – he is a horse, he is one super athlete,” Gowin said. “He is going to be something special before he leaves Goochland. He’s just a man-child.”
Despite the efforts of Jackson, Goochland was unable to get any closer. The Knights pushed the lead to nine by the end of the quarter with baskets from Caleb White and Tarian Ayers.
Buckingham put the game out of reach in the fourth, outscoring the Bulldogs 15-6 and holding them to a single field goal.
“Other people are going to have to start stepping up for us to be competitive. Teams are going to start packing it down on [Jackson] even more than they did tonight, so I need other people to make some baskets,” Goochland coach Oliver Courtney said. “Those guys were keeping fresh players coming at me, and that’s been our Achilles’ heel all year. You’ve got guys coming out 10 or 11 deep and I’ve got about seven. They’re going to get there quicker to that loose ball or they’re going to have fresh legs for those jump shots.”
White had a solid outing for Buckingham with 12 points, 11 rebounds, and four assists, while Ayers added eight points to go along with 10 rebounds.
Goochland looks to get back on track at William Monroe on Friday. Buckingham visits Cumberland on Tuesday.
