RICHMOND — Lebanon proved that you can, in fact, slow down Taylor Boyers — for awhile.
Unfortunately for the Pioneers, they didn’t prove that containing Boyers will, in turn, shut down Buckingham.
The Knights turned to junior center Kevin Bolden to carry the offense as he and point guard B.J. Jones connected from start to finish and Buckingham held off Lebanon 42-39 in the Group A, Division 2 semifinals Friday at the Siegel Center.
“They were double teaming Taylor some and we had to score,” Jones said. “I just saw that Kevin was open most of the time.”
Bolden knocked in 12 points and grabbed eight rebounds to lead Buckingham in both categories. Jones dished out eight assists and also limited his turnovers to just three total mistakes, which was particularly impressive considering how much he had his hands on the ball.
“Those assists were great, he had a couple of showtime ones (assists),” said Buckingham coach Russ Gowin. “Sometimes we have to settle B.J. because he can really do it sometimes, he can really go showtime. We talked about limiting turnovers and he made a conscious effort doing that.”
Boyers still managed 12 points and seven boards, and he came up with three assists and three steals. Jones also had three steals.
But Buckingham couldn’t seem to put away the Pioneers, and Lebanon had a chance to tie the game with under 20 seconds to play after slicing into Buckingham’s seven-point lead at the start of the fourth quarter. Seconds after Boyers put Buckingham up by three, Lebanon’s Andrew Jessee attacked the basket but couldn’t finish at the rim. Bolden yanked down the rebound and tried to find Tarian Ayers on an outlet pass. Lebanon came within an inch of scooping up the loose ball, but Ayers poked it away and found Harry Eldridge taking off downcourt. Eldridge’s lay-in rimmed out and Jones slipped in among the big bodies down low to grab the rebound. He then made a quick pass back up court to burn the rest of the clock and send Buckingham to the state final, setting off a wild celebration by the Knights.
It was fitting that a Bolden rebound, eventually, sealed the victory.
“He rebounded the ball great tonight, his physicality level went up,” Boyers said. “I think this week he just got it in his head that he needed to step up and it paid off for us.”
Kaylynn Cobb, a sophomore, came off the bench to lead Lebanon in scoring with 13 points. He buried three 3-pointers as well, including back-to-back long balls in the late first and early second quarter that helped Lebanon answer a 9-0 run by Buckingham in the first that gave the Knights an early 13-5 advantage.
Buckingham will face James River, also nicknamed the Knights, Saturday at 5 p.m. in the final. James River fell by two in the state semifinals last season to Radford. James River edged Dan River, the runner-up last season, in overtime Friday, with five players playing all but one minute in the 52-50 win.
Patrick Bennett led James River with 19 points and nine rebounds. Ethan Humphries sets the table for the offense and dished out seven assists in the victory.
