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In last Tuesday night’s battle to decide who would take the outright lead in James River District play, Buckingham (4-1 James River, 9-7) and Goochland (5-0, 10-4) went head-to-head, blow-for-blow throughout a game that featured eight ties and nine lead changes before the host Bulldogs pulled out a 69-66, thanks largely to an explosive fourth quarter from senior Mark Sampson.

  Both Sampson and Buckingham’s David Jones led their respective teams and turned in spectacular offensive performances. Jones led all scorers with 29 points including three 3-pointeres. But it was Sampson who had the last laugh. After only scoring two points in the first half, Sampson scored 18-points after the break on six 3-pointers including four treys in the final period.

  “Give Buckingham a lot of credit,” said Goochland head coach Oliver Courtney. “DJ Jones is a heck of a player also. Those two guys went at it. I think DJ had him for three quarters, but the one that counted was the fourth quarter and that’s when Sampson stole it from him.

  “He had some amazing shots,” Courtney said of his guard. “He was feeling it. When a guy is feeling it like that you’ve just got to let him play and get out of the way. That’s what I kind of did and the guys started looking for him.”

  After trailing Buckingham for all except 20 seconds of the third quarter, Goochland opened the fourth quarter with a 14-0 run to take an 11-point lead, the largest by either team.

  Trailing 54-51 heading into the final period, Goochland’s Brandon Henry (19 points), who carried the team throughout the first half, got the Bulldogs’ offense rolling with a three from the right baseline to tie the game.

  On Buckingham’s next offensive possession, the Knights turned the ball over and Sampson started to cramp up. Noticeably limping as he made his way up court, Sampson refused to look towards the sidelines or give any indication that he needed to leave the game.

  When Henry’s next three caromed off the rim, Sampson pulled down the rebound, stepped outside and drilled one of his own to give Goochland a 57-54 lead. As Sampson made his way back down the court there was no longer any limp and the only pain was what he caused Buckingham from that point on.

  With 5:22 left in the game, Sampson struck again from outside then less than a minute later, the senior guard got open on a crossover and drilled his third consecutive three from the left wing.

  When Goochland’s David Brooks drove the baseline for a short jumper with 3:52 to play the Bulldogs led 65-54.

  But then it was Jones turn.

  Nursing a large lead, Goochland changed strategies and decided to run the clock. For an offense that was going full throttle, their engine began to stall and the Bulldogs went nearly three minutes without scoring.

  “We were trying to slow it down and take it away,” Courtney said. “We were on a roll but I knew we had to do it.”

  Five straight points from Jones pulled Buckingham within five at 65-60 with 3:12 to play. The Bulldogs continued to contribute to the Knights cause by turning the ball over.

  After Henry lost the ball in a scramble for a rebound with 1:23 to play, the Knights passed long to Jones who struck with another three from the left wing to give the lead back to Buckingham 66-65.

  With the Knights back ahead, Courtney gave his squad the green-light. “We got in trouble but I told those guys just go ahead if you got it,” he said. “Just go ahead and do what you’ve got to do.”

  The result was a frantic pace that brought moments of anxiety that the coach rationalized with inspired play from his team. “We actually took some shots we shouldn’t have taken in the end too and it’s a fine line,” Courtney said.

  With one minute left in the game, a bad shot turned into salvation for Goochland when Henry roared into the lane to dunk on the Knights’ Kadeem Harris. Harris’ defense was just enough to throw Henry off to where he clanked the ball off the back of the rim sending it towards Buckingham’s end of the floor. But Sampson pulled in the ball at the top of the key and immediately drilled a three that gave the lead back to the Bulldogs 68-66.

  With the offense back at full throttle, Sampson got a little too fancy. With :43 to play he attempting a reverse wrap-around pass on Jones that sent the ball out-of-bounds.

  But when the Knights tried to lob the ball inside for a tie, Goochland’s Willie Ezell skied to deflect the pass out of bounds. The Bulldogs then got the ball back when their tight defense forced the Knights into a five-second violation in the ensuing inbounds.

  Having only been called for five fouls in the half, Buckingham had to foul repeatedly before sending Nick Morris to the line for a one-and-one with :11 seconds to play.

  Earlier in the game Morris lost his cool and was whistled for a double-technical when he and Buckingham’s Taylor Boyers tangled at midcourt.

  But stepping to the line with the game in the balance, Morris coolly sank the first for a three point lead and the final margin.

  On February 6, in their final regular season game, Goochland will make the return visit to Buckingham in a contest that promises to be a James River showdown. “Oh yeah, I don’t even want to think about that right now,” Courtney said. “I’m just going to enjoy this night and tomorrow come back and work on Central (Friday night’s opponent).

  “I think this league here, you’ve got teams that can beat anybody,” Courtney said. “We’re just thankful for this night. We’re going to work hard and see if we can keep it going.”

BUCKINGHAM (4-1 James River, 9-7) Ross 2, Boyers 10, H. Eldridge 11, Evans 2, Jones 29, Harris 8, D Eldridge 0, Bolden 2, Baker 2. Totals: 27 7-15 66.
GOOCHLAND (5-0, 10-4) Turner 2, Henry 19, Morris 13, Harris 0, Johnson 0, Sampson 20, Ezell 7, Eby 0, Brooks 8. Totals: 24 11-15 69.
Buckingham…............. 17 19 18 12 — 66
Goochland…................ 17 18 16 18 — 69
3-point goals: B — Jones 3, Harris 2. G — Sampson 6, Henry 3, Ezell. Highlights: B — D.J Jones 11 fourth-quarter points. G — Mark Sampson 18 second-half points and made four 3-pointers in the fourth quarter.

GOOCHLAND 85, CENTRAL 50
GOOCHLAND (6-0 James River, 11-4)
Turner 11, Henry 13, Morris 14, Harris 6, Johnson 6, Sampson 17, Henley 6, Ezell 2, Eby 4, Brooks 6. Totals 35 6-15 85.
CENTRAL-LUNENBURG (n/r) Cole 8, Forward 5, S. Townsend 10, Sweitzer 15, Hawk 7, Wilkerson 2, D. Townsend 3. Totals 21 5-10 50.
Goochland…............... 20 19 26 20 — 85
Cent.-Lunenburg ........ 9 11 16 14 — 50
3-point goals: G — Turner 3, Sampson 3, Henry 2, Henley. C — Cole, Sweitzer, D. Townsend.