RICHMOND – Two years ago when Buckingham County needed a string of big plays, then senior guard Jacquan Eldridge was a reliable source. On Saturday, in double overtime, it was his younger cousin Harry Eldridge’s turn. Not only the did the current senior guard hit the shot that forced overtime, but in the opening minutes of double overtime, Eldridge’s mid-range basket which was followed by a steal and a layup wound up pushing his team out in front as the Knights fought back from a double digit deficit in the second half to take down Middlesex in the Group A, Division 2 quarterfinal, 73-65 in front of a caravan of Buckingham fans at the Siegel Center.
“He came up big,” said Knights coach Russ Gowin. “He got hurt last Saturday against Dan River and practiced very sparingly, toward the end of the week he didn’t practice any. He got frustrated early with two charging fouls and had to sit but then of course, with Taylor fouled out, Harry just made some big time points.”
With the exception of one run in the first half, and a late run by Buckingham, the game was a see-saw battle with the Chargers and Knights trading points.
Buckingham took a three-point lead late in the first quarter but quickly found themselves down by seven after Middlessex peeled off a 10-0 run in a three minute stretch. The two teams traded baskets for the next six minutes and the Chargers finished the first half with an 8-point lead behind strong shooting from Ryheem Lockley and Michael Bess.
The first six minutes of the third quarter very much resembled the last six of the second as neither team was able seize momentum. However, that changed in the final two minutes of the frame as Tarian Ayers and Taylor Boyers were able to finally cut into the Chargers’ lead and get to within three points as the Knights zone defense took care of business.
In the fourth, Buckingham’s Caleb White tied the game with five minutes to play. And from that point on it was back and forth again. The Chargers had a 2-point lead with 22.3 seconds to play, but Harry Eldridge tied the game up on a contested shot down low. With nine seconds still left Middlesex worked the ball up court but could not get off a shot.
In the first overtime, the Knights converted on their first two possessions to go up by four points but the Chargers fought right back to tie the game, primarliy at the free throw line to force an additional overtime.
Finally in the second overtime, the Knights were able to take the lead for good. The jumper followed by a steal and layup from Eldridge gave Buckingham a 4-point lead in the opening minutes of the second overtime.
“Going through my head, all I could think about was making the final four,” Eldridge said. “We came in with intensity and when we got to overtime we knew we had to get the win. Knowing that (Jacquan) got this far two years ago, I’m glad we’ve know got that same opportunity and hopefully we can keep moving on but it’s just one game at a time right now.”
With the lead in hand, White then made it a six-point game with 1:17 to play. Middlesex then was forced to foul and the Knights held on for the win.
“I couldn’t be more proud of these kids,” Gowin said. “They found a way to fight back from that lead, and right now its win or go home and they found a way to extend the season and make the final four. We’re just ecstatic and the crowd was huge. We had a huge following.”
White had a bi impact on the game late, hitting three 3-pointers. He was tied for the team lead in points with 18. Ayers also finished with 18, but his biggest contribution came defensively as he was able to keep a close watch on Bess, particularly late in the game, and he finished with four steals. Boyers finished with 14 points before fouling out late in the fourth quarter. Eldridge, Ayers, Boyers and Kevin Bolden all finished with five or more rebounds.
For the Chargers, Lockley, who’s just a freshman, led all scorers with 30 points and also was the game’s top rebounder with 11 boards. Bess finished with 14 points and scored his 1,000th point of his career in the second quarter.
The Knights will play in the semifinals for the second time in three years when they face Lebanon on Friday at 10:30 a.m. back in Richmond at the Siegel Center.
