A four-point difference in the score when the final buzzer went off in the Prince Edward County Middle School gym was the difference that saw the Eagles fall 55-51 to Bluestone in the James River District championship game on Monday night.

“It was a good game,” said PECHS head coach James Scott.

With the loss, the Eagles dropped to 12-10 on the season.

The Bluestone Barons entered the contest with two wins against Prince Edward this season: a 72-65 win on their court and 72-60 win on the Eagles’ court just seven games before the championship matchup.

The Eagles trailed the entire game, but finally began to close in on the gap in the third quarter by scoring 20 points. However, they were still down 47-34 entering the fourth quarter.

Again, the Eagles fought with all their might to catch up to the Barons. The Eagles even outscored Bluestone 17-8 in the final quarter, and only trailed by two points at the two-minute mark. Unfortunately for the Eagles, they came up short in the final seconds of the game.

The leading scorer for the Eagles was Zarius Jones with 11 points. He also had four rebounds, a steal and an assist.

Marty Blount added nine points and three rebounds. Kevon Braxton landed a total of eight points. Braxton led the Eagles in rebounds with 10.

Montel Phillips helped propel the Eagles with seven points, seven rebounds, two steals and an assist.

Quantavis Nash and Delquan Bigelow contributed six points each. Nash also had four rebounds, two assists and a steal. Bigelow finished the night with two assists, a steal and a rebound.

Mark Patterson and Nicholas Sims scored two points each. Sims also had three rebounds.

The Prince Edward Eagles returned to their home court on Thursday, when they faced off against Goochland High School at 7 p.m. in the first round of the Quad Rivers Conference 34 tournament.