PETERSBURG – The team that has been the lone thorn in the side of the Fuqua School basketball team continued to as sharp as ever in the Championship game of the Virginia Commonwealth Conference Tournament on Saturday night.

The Falcons, who have been perfect against other VCC foes all season, fell 60-44 to Amelia Academy in the title game played at Richard Bland College. All three of Fuqua's losses in the league have come to the Patriots.

With the exception of the first basket of the game, the Flacons trailed the entire contest. Fuqua fell behind 13-8 at the end of the first quarter. Down 13-4 late in the quarter, Fuqua got baskets from Davis Cyrus and Al Baker to cut into the AA lead.

Amelia Academy extended its lead to 28-16 at the intermission. Fuqua trailed by as many as 17 points late in the second quarter, before Josh Davis and Jai Jamerson hit three-pointers to cut into the Patriots' lead.

A three-pointer by senior Davis Cyrus with a little over a minute into the third quarter, pulled the Falcons back to within nine points at 28-19.

Fuqua held the Patriots scoreless over the first four minutes of the quarter, but were unable to further cut into the lead.

“They're tall and fast,” said FS head coach Marcus Gregory. “We fell behind, but had our chances to get back into the game. Missing a number of free throws in the first half didn't help, but when our defense stepped up at the start of the third quarter, we weren't able to match that on the offensive end.

“You can only keep them down for so long, before they go back on a run.”

The Patriots ended the quarter on an 18-4 run to pretty much put the game away, up 46-23 going into the fourth.

The Falcons were able to chip away at the Amelia Academy lead over the final eight minutes, as both teams mixed in a number of reserves.

“They're a type of team that force you into taking a shot you don't want to take, or making a pass sooner than you would like,” said Gregory. “Sometimes you can get away with it, but they force you to do it enough that they'll make you pay for it.”

The Patriots were led in scoring by Josh Bailey, who had a double-double of 16 points and 11 rebounds. Reid Jacoby had ten points and three assists, while Naamna Yasmat scored nine points and pulled down nine rebounds. Otis Williams also scored nine points, collected seven rebounds and had three steals.

Fuqua was led in scoring by Josh Davis, who had ten points, while Davis Cyrus scored ten points. Antonio Gonzalez scored eight points and dished out five assists, while Boris Ngundji scored seven points and hauled in seven rebounds. Carter Cunningham pulled down six boards.

As expected, Fuqua received an invitation to the VISBA Division III Tournament. The Falcons, the No. 8 seed in the 12-team tournament, were scheduled to host No. 9 seed Banner Christian on Tuesday night at Gilmer Gym.

The winner will move on to face top-seeded Carlisle School on Wednesday night.

“We're glad to get into the field and to host a game,” said Gregory. “Every team we play is a good team from here on out, and we'll have to be playing our best, but the playoffs is what we've been working toward, and now we'll see what we can do with a home game and if we can get past [Banner Christian], we'll get a crack at the top-seeded team in the tournament.”

The tournament semifinals and finals will be held on Friday and Saturday at Virginia State University, in Ettrick.