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Buckingham pulls away from Fluvanna

For video of a Harry Eldridge steal late in the game, click here.

Buckingham’s Caleb White didn’t come completely out of nowhere Tuesday night, but it was pretty close. On a team filled with proven, experienced talents including 10 seniors, the Knights’ slight, 6-foot-4 sophomore unassumingly stepped off the bench and took over in a big-time game against Fluvanna County.

“I don’t even know what (White’s) name is, but he came in and just killed us from the perimeter and then he beat us off the dribble,” said Fluvanna coach Munro Rateau.

White’s 17 points as a reserve lifted Buckingham past the Flucos 66-55 and gave the Knights a season sweep over Fluvanna.

White was on the receiving end of several nice setups from senior guard B.J. Jones, who finished with eight points and five assists on the night with an energized effort of his own. White buried a pair of key 3-pointers with Jones’ help.

“I tried to set him up so he could knock down some threes for us, because I knew it’d be hard to penetrate in the middle,” Jones said.

White scored 13 points in the first half of a win over Christchurch back on December 29.

Jones picked up a technical foul early in the game because he was worked up over a play, and while most coaches might get worked up themselves over a technical, Buckingham coach Russ Gowin knew it might not be the worst thing that could happen to the Knights.

“Sometimes he gets a little excited, but he gets a little bit quicker when he gets excited, so we kind of like seeing that,” Gowin said. “He’s been the catalyst for us.”

Jones helped orchestrate a nice run early in the fourth that helped the Knights pull away in what had been a back-and-forth contest. Until the decisive fourth quarter move, the two teams matched each other run for run. In the second quarter after Buckingham jumped ahead by six points with a 9-2 spurt, Fluvanna broke back with an 8-2 jaunt to even the score at 22-22.

But in the fourth, Buckingham (9-1) managed to come up with a seven-point lead on a Taylor Boyers bucket and then held on tight. Back-to-back scores by YaYa Anderson, who finished with a game-high 22 points, and Cameron Coles cut the lead, but Buckingham kept hitting free throws and Fluvanna couldn’t keep the pressure on.

The Flucos (5-3) operated well in their secondary break, flying up court after made buckets by Buckingham each time, but Fluvanna struggled to finish shots as nothing seemed to fall.

“We missed some lay-ups off of it and I think they made every one of theirs,” Rateau said. “In fact, some of their foul shots hit the back of the rim, stopped and just fell in. It’s a good learning experienced for us — and we’ll get better.”

Boyers, despite foul trouble, also gave the Flucos fits. The senior finished with 14 points and 11 rebounds.

Harry Eldridge finished with 10 points and three steals, while Tarian Ayers came up with 10 points, attacking the basket throughout the first half.

Damien Harris and Coles each had 10 for Fluvanna, with Coles hauling in seven boards. Zack Miller dished out four assists.

Fluvanna, facing a gauntlet of a week, hits the road Friday to take on Western Albemarle, while Buckingham hosts Central Lunenburg.

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