The varsity boys basketball teams from Fuqua School and Buckingham County High School reignited a rivalry this year that had been dormant since 2009, and the Falcons made it a season series sweep, following up their 63-60 home win over the Knights on Jan. 22 with a 79-73 victory in Buckingham on Wednesday night.

“We came out strong,” Fuqua Head Coach Mike Edwards said. “I told my guys from the get-go, I was like, ‘I don’t know what all of the hype is about, but supposedly, it’s supposed to be the biggest game of your lives, so when you guys come out, be ready to go from the tip, because I know these guys are going to came at you hard and come at you strong, so be ready.’ And so we came out ready to fight, ready to battle, and I’m proud of my guys tonight.”

The Falcons led 18-14 after the first quarter, 28-26 at halftime and 51-38 after three quarters of play.

The Knights did make a run in the second half and came within four points twice in the fourth quarter, 59-55 and 61-57.

Edwards said the key in holding them off was “just getting my guys and letting them know, ‘Relax. We’ve been here before, we’ve had this same situation. It starts on defense. We can’t let our offense dictate what we do on defense. So if we get stops, we can come down, we can score on offense.’ So I preach to my guys every day, ‘I know we can score the basketball. I want to know if we can stop the ball.’ And so they’ve been committed, day in and day out, trying to stop the basketball.”

Wednesday’s game was much closer at halftime than it was Jan. 22 when the Falcons led 30-15 at the break. But Fuqua built up a 15-point lead and more in the third quarter on Wednesday thanks to good defense, strong finishing inside and spot-on three-point shooting.

Edwards said he made it clear to his players this season that they were going to shoot a lot of three-pointers.

“All that matters is how we attack and how we get them,” he said.

For the game, junior guard Drew Osborn led the Falcons with 20 points, adding seven rebounds. Junior forward/guard Matt Osborn had 15 points and five boards, freshman guard Tanner Thomas scored 11 points, sophomore center Jacob Dillon registered six points and 11 rebounds and freshman guard Matt Hempfield added eight points.

Fuqua sophomore point guard Maureon Tisdale-Couch scored 19 points, playing extended minutes with junior point guard Jaylen Hempfield sidelined while recovering from a broken wrist.

“Having Maureon step in big-time for Jaylen as he’s been out, he’s been playing tremendously, and we need for him to continue to do that,” Edwards said. “I think game by game, he’s starting to get a feel of what’s needed and what I’m looking for out of him, and the sky’s the limit for that kid. He’s going to have a bright future.”

Despite the loss for Buckingham, Knights junior forward Jalen Chambers led all scorers with 23 points, and sophomore guard Amari Toney added 17.

Edwards, when asked to list Falcons standouts for the night, focused his attention on the team’s supporters who were present in great numbers.

“I want to highlight mostly the students who came and the parents who came tonight,” he said. “They really gave us the energy to come out here and play super tough and play super hard.”

Buckingham (8-10) visits Bluestone High School on Thursday at 7 p.m. Fuqua (14-6) hosts Kenston Forest School on Monday at 7 p.m.