BUCKINGHAM – With a literal last-second 60-59 victory over Appomattox on Wednesday night, the Buckingham County High School basketball team was able to extend one streak and avoid another in a non-district contest.

Wednesday's game came just 24 hours after the Knights suffered a 62-45 defeat at Randolph-Henry in its James River District opener.

The Knights avoided a losing streak, while keeping intact a home-court win streak that dates back to the 2008-09 season.

“We really didn't want to lose two in a row on back-to-back nights,” said BCHS head coach Russ Gowin. “If you can avoid that, you're going to have a good season.”

Wednesday night's victory didn't come without drama. In a nip-and-tuck game, Buckingham held a lead for most of the fourth quarter, before Appomattox tied the contest at 59 apiece on a three-pointer with 1:08 remaining.

After a time out, the Knights held the ball until about 15 seconds remaining when junior Caleb White was fouled on a put-back attempt.

The Knights were hampered by poor foul shooting all night. White missed both attempts, but the second miss was rebounded by Tarian Ayers, which gave the home team one more chance.

After a time out and subsequent run-down of the clock, Ayers found White behind the arc for a last-second three-point attempt.

White's shot drew iron, but not before the whistle blew, which gave him three shots at victory with no time remaining on the clock.

After an Appomattox time out, White hit the first shot, which ended the game.

“I just told him to relax and go hit all three, if they give you three,” said Gowin. “He's a great shooter. Even given the situation, I knew he would have no trouble.”

Unlike in its Tuesday night game at Randolph-Henry, the Knights didn't have trouble getting things started offensively early in the game. However, they faced an opponent that matched them basket for basket. The two teams battled to a 18-18 tie at the end of the first quarter, and the Raiders held a 30-29 lead at the intermission.

Buckingham began the third quarter with a 9-3 run to lead 38-33 on a LA Briley steal and lay-up with 5:26 remaining in the period.

Up two with under two minutes left, Ayers drove in for an up-and-under shot along the baseline, and Landon Allen and White ended the period with back-to-back three-pointers to give the Knights a 48-42 lead heading into the fourth.

Appomattox wouldn't go away. Helped by Buckingham's shooting woes at the foul line, managed to stay within two possessions for much of the fourth quarter, before the Raiders tied the game on the three-pointer with a little over a minute remaining.

White led the Knights with 18 points and five rebounds, while Kevin Bolden just missed out on a double-double with 13 points and nine rebounds. Ayers scored 11 to go along with eight rebounds and seven assists, while Briley registered seven assists and committed just one turnover.

Buckingham shot 21-42 (50 percent) from the floor, and was 4-12 (33 percent) from three-point range. The Knights, however, were a very cold 14-31 (45 percent) from the foul line.

BCHS tallied 29 rebounds, and five offensive boards – including three important offensive rebounds in the fourth quarter off of missed free throws.

“It was a non-district game, but it was still an important one for us,” said Gowin. “Region B wins carry a lot of weight when factoring in playoff seeding, and Appomattox has a very scrappy team that will get its share of victories before the season is over.

“We have areas that need work, but I was happy to see how well we responded from [Tuesday's] game, and came back to get a win.”

Nothing came easy for the Knights in their Tuesday night game at Randolph-Henry. As good as Buckingham's run has been over the last five seasons, Charlotte Court House has been a thorn in the Knights' side.

“We didn't play well,” said Gowin. “You have to give them credit. They played us with a lot of intensity and got on us early.”

Despite being down by over ten points for most of the game, BCHS managed to cut into the R-H lead at the end of the third quarter.

A jumper by White with ten seconds remaining in the quarter cut Buckingham's deficit to six at 35-41, going into the fourth.

BCHS received possession to begin the fourth, but turned the ball over, which opened the door for the Statesmen to begin the fourth with an 8-1 run over the first two minutes of the final period.

“That miss to start the fourth quarter was big,” said Gowin. “If we can score there, then maybe that tightens things up. After we gave up the two quick buckets to start the fourth, I think being back down by double-digits really was a letdown mentally.”

Two Bolden buckets with five minutes remaining pulled BC to within 11 points at 52-41, but Buckingham was unable to get any closer.

Randolph-Henry forced a cold-shooting BCHS squad to shoot over the Statesmen early, and it played to their advantage.

The Knights could only muster two baskets by White in the first quarter (one a three-pointer, and the other a converted three-point-play), as Buckingham quickly fell behind by double digits at 15-6 at the end of the first quarter.

Despite picking things up on offense, the Knights were unable to break under the ten point barrier in the second quarter. A floater by Briley and a breakaway layup by White cut the R-H lead to 24-14 midway through the second quarter, but Randolph-Henry's speed broke up what looked at first to be two easy lay-ups that could've helped BC cut into the Statesmen lead.

Buckingham trailed 33-19 at the break.

Ayers led the Knights with 12 points on the night, while White scored 11 and Bolden added nine to go along with eight rebounds. Briley was credited with seven assists.

The Knights only pulled down a total of 17 rebounds on the evening, and was held to just two offensive boards.

As a team, BC was 14-42 from the field (33 percent), 1-14 (seven percent) from three-point range, and 6-13 (46 percent) from the foul line.

“We didn't shoot well, and we didn't rebound well,” said Gowin. “When you combine those two, you're going to lose. When you're playing a team as good as Randolph-Henry, you're going to lose big.”