For the second time in seven days, Goochland and Powhatan squared off on the basketball court and the result was a split. Monday night, it was Goochland’s turn to host but Powhatan’s turn to win as the Indians left town with a 70-57 victory.

  The Bulldogs snatched an early lead but once the Indians drew even at six they never looked back. Powhatan’s aggressive play on the boards and young undersized backcourt shredded the usually stingy Bulldog defense to lead by as much as 19 points.

  “That was probably the best game we’ve played all season; the most complete effort,” said Powhatan coach Steve Washburn.

  Goochland coach Preston Gordon was not as pleased with his team’s performance.

  “I don’t think our focus was there tonight,” he said. “I don’t think our effort was as good as it should have been. We didn’t play up to our potential.”

  Gordon acknowledged the Indians’ stellar defensive. “I give credit to Powhatan and their defensive effort,” he said. “They disrupted us and forced us to take some shots that we didn’t want to take.”

  The Bulldogs mounted a second period comeback and drew within one late in the quarter but Powhatan’s steals and fast breaks gave the Indians a 27-23 lead at intermission.

  While the Indians converted on several quick second half baskets the Bulldogs remained stuck at 23.

  “We just couldn’t put the ball in the hole tonight,” Gordon said.

  Goochland had four scorers in double figures but rebounding statistics were not as kind.

  By the end of the third quarter the Indians had a seemingly insurmountable 49-32 lead with a large chunk coming on three 3-pointers from sophomore guard Tyler Amorese.

  Meanwhile, the Bulldogs leading scorer, James Brooks, was on the bench with four fouls.

  “We have to get it going earlier in the game,” Gordon said. “We outscored them in the fourth quarter but that couldn’t make up the deficit.”

  The Bulldogs (6-3) were 2-1 last week with wins over Powhatan, Cumberland and a double overtime home loss to Randolph Henry.

  Gordon said his team took the R-H game to two extra periods despite shooting under 30 percent from the floor.

  “We had a chance to win it at the end of the first and second overtime periods but just couldn’t finish,” he said.

  Despite the good performances last week the Powhatan loss always stings and Gordon didn’t mask his disappointment.

  “We gave them easy baskets,” he said. “That came from us being out of position defensively. Our kids are better than that.”

  The Bulldogs take on Buckingham and Amelia this week.

Powhatan 70, Goochland 57
POWHATAN (3-6) — Balcom 13,
Deleon 6, Amorese 18, Allen 21,
Manion 0, Gerow 2, Lewis 4, Taylor 4, Ratliff 2. Totals 27 12-16 70.
GOOCHLAND (6-3) — Ce. Johnson 6, Z. Johnson 0, E. Smith 0, Mattox 12, S. Smith 0, Co. Johnson 10, Adams 10, Hayden 0, Brooks 19, Talmage 0, Stone 0. Totals 21 11-19 57.
Powhatan…........... 13 14 22 21 — 70
Goochland….........  8 15   9 25 — 57
3-point goals — P: Amorese 3, Deleon; G: Ce. Johnson 2, Brooks 2.
Highlights — P: Tyler Allen 10 rebounds; Tyler Amorese hit three 3-pointers in the third quarter; Joe Balcom 7 for 7 FT in the fourth quarter. G: Cody Johnson 7 rebounds.