Buckingham County High School’s varsity boys basketball team faced one of the district elites Friday night, losing 58-44 to visiting Goochland High School, but the Knights have won four of their last five and are clearly taking positive strides.

“Overall, I was pleased with our effort and with our energy,” Buckingham Head Coach Taylor Boyers said of Friday’s game. “I think our guys battled all night. I told them I was proud of how hard we played. We just didn’t shoot the ball real well. We didn’t execute enough offensively in the half court.”

The Knights trailed 13-12 after the first quarter, 26-17 at halftime and 38-28 after three quarters.

Leading them in scoring was senior forward Deamonte Lassenberry, who produced a game-high 14 points.

“He played really well for us,” Boyers said. “He attacked the basket, he got to the free throw line …”

Buckingham’s defensive strategy centered around limiting the Bulldogs’ all-state guard, Deion Harwood.

“Xavier Copeland and Xavian Gough, those two guys really played well on him all night,” Boyers said. “I think we held him to 11 points, and he probably averages around 18 or so, but we executed the game plan, defensively.”

The Knights’ overall record entering their Tuesday matchup at Fuqua School was 7-6, including 6-4 in the district, good for fourth place, the last spot eligible for a regional playoff berth.

Accounting for why Buckingham is experiencing more success lately, Boyers said, “We got healthy. We got Jalen Chambers back. We were able to go on a win streak, four games, but I think we’re improving each and every week, each and every game, and that’s really the goal for us is to be playing our best basketball headed into the playoffs.”