On Friday night the Goochland varsity boys basketball team capped off a successful week with a 75-59 home victory over Central Luneburg. In doing so, the team provided first year coach Preston Gordon with his first victory in the GHS gym.

  “It was special,” Gordon said.

  Central quickly fell behind as the Bulldogs mounted a six-point lead in a fast paced first period. Despite a pressing Bulldog defense that forced Central into turnovers, the Chargers tied the score at 25 midway through the second period. The visitors then kept it close with the score knotted at the half 38-38.

  The Chargers mounted another comeback in the second half and early in the fourth quarter they pulled even at 45-45.

  “I thought both teams played a great game,” said Chargers coach Mike McGrath. “With three minutes to go, it was anybody’s game until we were forced to start fouling.”

  In the game, Goochland guard Cody Johnson connected on four baskets from beyond the arc. Johnson attributed those shots to good penetration from teammate James Brooks.

  “James is so quick he was able to open it up for everyone else and I was able to get some open shots,” Johnson said.

  Gordon felt the outside shooting was the result of hard work on the inside. “Cody was phenomenal with the threes tonight and those shots were open due to James’ penetration” he said.

  Likewise, the statistic that pleased Gordon most was the 20 assists the team recorded in the victory. “It shows how aggressive and unselfish this team is and that’s the kind of basketball we want to play,” the coach said.

  After a postponement at the beginning of the season due to the football teams’ extended run, the Bulldog basketball squad is playing well and showing consistent improvement.

  Goochland captured the title at the Cumberland tournament earlier in the week with wins over Prince Edward and the host team.

  CeeJay Johnson had 10 points in each of the Bluestone, Prince Edward and Cumberland games, and also had a good tournament defensively.

  “Ceejay did a great job defensively as he guarded some of the better teams’ offensive players,” Gordon said.

  Likewise, Harry Talmage had a good tournament on the boards and turned in his usual selfless performances. “He isn’t looking to shoot the ball,” Gordon said. “He does the little things, takes the charges, gets the loose ball, that all contribute to the win.” 
  In a nail-biter championship game Nathan Adams came up big in the Bulldogs 71-70 victory.

  “Nathan Adams had a huge game versus Cumberland in the championship game as he was 6-6 from the line and knocked down some clutch shots in the fourth quarter,” Gordon said.

  The coach felt the tournament was a great opportunity to strengthen a bench he knows will be critical to the team’s success. “With the type of defense we play, I realize our kids will get tired and other players have to step up,” Gordon said. “We got to play a lot of kids in the tournament.”

  He also felt winning the early season tournament also had some intangible results. “It boosted our morale and gave our team confidence and gave our team some big wins going into the New Year.”

  On Monday night, Brooks scored 22 points to lead the Bulldogs to a 65-53 win over Powhatan as Goochland improved to 5-1 on the season. 
 
CENTRAL LUNENBURG (1-5, 0-3
James River) — Seward 20, Haywood 14, J. Webb 15, Forward 4, Carr 6, Williams 0, Chavous 0, Logan 0, T. Webb 0. Totals 25 3-7 59.
GOOCHLAND (4-1, 2-1) — Ce. Johnson 2, Z. Johnson 2, E. Smith 8, Mattox 2, S. Smith 2, Co. Johnson 22, Adams 10, Hayden 0, Brooks 27, Talmage 0, Stone 0. Totals 30 9-12 75.
C. Lunenburg…................. 17 11 17 14 — 59
Goochland…...................... 22 14 12 27 — 75
3-point goals — CL: Seward 4, Haywood, J. Webb; G: Co. Johnson 4, Brooks 2.
Highlights — G: James Brooks 10 assists, 6 steals, 6 rebounds; Nathan Adams 8 rebounds; Cody Johnson 3 assists; Evan Smith 5 rebounds, 3 assists.