Two years ago the Brunswick boys basketball team came into Goochland and pulled off an upset in the then Conference 34 semifinals. That Bulldogs team was led by senior Jack Twombly and a sophomore in Deion Harwood. It was a team that had state playoff aspirations but was shocked by those other Bulldogs. It was a bitter taste that fueled last year’s Goochland squad which avenged the loss in the regular season and went on to make it to the realigned Class 2A tournament.
So when Goochland was up by 20 in the third quarter on Brunswick, it appeared that the home team — led by Harwood, now a senior — was on cruise control to another state tournament bid. There’s nothing easy in this world.
The visitors scrapped and clawed in a messy second half that had a snail’s pace with whistles seemingly every offensive set. Those same visitors forced an overtime that at one point seemed unthinkable. Then they took the lead early on in overtime. But then Kameron Holman finished on a layup underneath. Goochland subsequently took the lead and forced three straight turnovers on defense, then got the job done at the free throw line to avoid heartbreak with a 96-89 win in overtime. A win is win, but this one had more sweat at the end than anyone thought possible after the first half for Goochland to secure its second-straight state tournament berth.
“The only thing sticking in my mind was two years ago, how we had the thing wrapped up and (Brunswick) chopped and chopped away,” said Goochland coach Preston Gordon. “We almost let it get away tonight. But I’d said a little bit of experience playing in those kinds of games helped us out.”
Before Brunswick made its methodical comeback, Goochland blew the doors off with a 21-0 run in the first quarter. Goochland trailed 4-1 in the first three minutes but after Holman took the reigns offensively with finish after finish underneath to lead the scoring spree before Harwood put a cap on the run to make it 22-4 when he hit his first 3-pointer of the night. In 21-0 spurt, Goochland hit nine straight field goals while coming up with nine straight stops on defense.
“It was all defense, playing hard and keeping our head in the game,” Holman said. “I was trusting my guys to box out and when I saw they had the ball I leaked out and knew they’d find me down court some how.”
Up 19 after the first, Goochland maintained a comfortable lead going into the break thanks to plenty more from Holman and help from freshman James Bell who had his hands full with 6-foot-7 sophomore Trevon Callis. Goochland went into the break up by 14. With a solid start to the third, it held a 20-point margin in the opening minutes of the third. But things changed after that, and not in a quick way, which made the tension in the gym all that more dramatic.
“If you know anything about Brunswick basketball, if you’ve ever been in their gym you see all those banners,” Gordon said. “That’s a heck of a ballclub, those kids never quit. Jordan Firman and JaQuan Miller, those guys are talented. You throw in Trevon Callis, the big guy — the one good thing for us is that they reminded us a lot of Cumberland. They’ve got a talented post player and just just two really talented guards.”
Brunswick’s comeback was less furious and more winning a battle of trench warfare. Goochland went to work on the clock, struggled at the free throw line and also dealt with a slew of turnovers. Meanwhile, Miller and Firman were on fire from beyond the arc and also had their share of success off the dribble and attacking the basket. Goochland’s lead was down to 11 after a 3-pointer to end the third frame from Miller. With just over four minutes to play, Firman made it a 6-point contest and it was on from there. Goochland held an 81-77 lead after Harwood hit a pair of free throws with 14 seconds remaining in regulation. Brunswick rushed down the court, got a layup from Miller with eight seconds left and then forced a turnover on the ensuing inbounds pass. That allowed Callis to get the feed on the following Brunswick inbounds and he finished to send the game to overtime.
“We let them climb back into it but some of that had to do with our own foul trouble that we created for ourselves,” Gordon said. “We shot ourselves in the foot on a few things. There were a lot of times that we did some uncharacteristic things. We’ve done so much better all season, but when you play good teams, they get you out of your rhythm. And I want to give all the credit to Brunswick, their coaches and players. That was a dog fight and they never quit.”
In overtime, Brunswick went up 82-81 on a free throw, but after that, it was all Goochland. When Holman picked up his 26th point on a layup to make it 83-82, the Goochland defense forced three straight turnovers and went to the free throw line each trip back down the court. In overtime, Goochland’s free throw game was on point with Harwood hitting 7-of-9 down the stretch to wrap up the win.
“It was important — we knew they were going to foul once we got the ball — so it was important we get the ball and knock down free throws and keep racking up points,” Harwood said.
With the win, Goochland advances to the Region 2A championship with Greensville. The winner will get the right to host their Class 2A tournament game. But while that matters, Thursday’s win was the must have.
“We didn’t want tonight to be the end,” Harwood said. “We knew if we won tonight we got to the state tournament so there was a lot of focus that went into this game and so we’re pretty excited.”
On the night, Holman led Goochland with 26 points while Harwood was close behind at 22. Quincey Snead, who sat much of the second half with foul trouble before ultimately fouling out still managed 17 points. Bell finished with 15.
Brunswick was mostly a two man show with Miller leading all scorers with 32 points and Firman finishing with 28.
Goochland hosts Greensville Friday at 7 p.m.
