By Scrimmageplaycva.com contributor Josh Driver
A Buckingham team walked into Goochland County with the swagger that comes with an undefeated record and fans saw a high intensity game that needed more than four quarters. In overtime, a strong defensive play by Bulldogs junior guard Ceejay Johnson set the tone in overtime as he stole the ball and ran the length of the floor for an easy lay up. The steal, bucket and free throws down the stretch gave the Bulldogs the upper hand as they held on for a huge James River District win, 61-57.
“I think Ceejay Johnson was crucial getting us a couple buckets in overtime,” said Goochland Coach Preston Gordon. “We we’re screaming for some set plays but in the end he’s just a true basketball player and saw an opening and took it.” After that play, strong emotions came out as Buckingham got called for an intentional foul along with a technical foul.
Goochland started off the game on top as they ended the first quarter with a ten to eight lead, but that quickly evaporated as the Knights jumped ahead at the start of the second quarter 14-12. A 14-4 run shot the Bulldogs ahead as they went into the locker room with an 11-point lead. Goochland’s defense was stingy and on point against Buckingham’s high powered offense for most of the game only allowing 36 points in the first 26 minutes.
“We saw some things on film from them last year to focus on, some real keys,” Gordon said. “I think that really helped us in the first three quarters but in the fourth got a bit lackadaisical about it.”
Buckingham made strong adjustments going into the fourth quarter though, as it forced multiple turnovers and excellent shooting from Dre Scott with nine of his 18 in the fourth quarter including a game tying 2 with 30 seconds left forcing the game into overtime.
“It was scary (going into overtime) because they were undefeated,” Johnson said. “We talked about slowing things down but also keeping our heads up because we were getting down on ourselves. We had to stop fouling and make smart decisions.”
The strong fourth quarter comeback didn’t quite carry over into overtime though. An intentional foul on the Knights followed immediately by a technical foul padded the the Bulldogs lead after Johnson’s steal and layup. Buckingham got to within 3-points of the lead in the final moments, but could not overcome the clock or Goochland’s late free throw shooting.
“I’m proud of the kids for fighting back from some adversity, making some defensive stops and then hitting on some clutch plays to force overtime,” Buckingham Coach Russ Gowain said. “We’ve talked about it since mid-December that everyone is going to get up for you. We knew they were going to give us their best shot. At 10-0 you’re thinking that eventually there will be a letdown and we had that tonight in the first half.”
Goochland’s Evan Smith led the way offensively with five 3-pointers for a game high 22 points. Johnson and Josh Hayden also finished in double figures with 10 points each.
For Buckingham, Scott and Cam Johnson each scored 15 points. Tariq Bartee managed to add 12 points despite missing time because of injury.
Goochland (5-3, 3-2) travels to Amelia on Friday at 7:30 p.m.
Buckingham (10-1, 4-1) will play Bluestone at home on Friday at 7:30 p.m.
