CUMBERLAND – The Buckingham County High School boys basketball team fell to Dan River 64-51 in the semifinals of the Region B, Division 2 Tournament on Friday night at the Cumberland High School.

The Knights, who trailed for most of the game after leading 10-7 at the end of the first quarter, were never really able to find an offensive rhythm against the taller Wildcats.

“Dan River is the best defensive team we've played all year,” said BCHS head coach Russ Gowin. “They did a great job of limiting our opportunities. It was tough to go to the basket, and we had to rely on our outside shooting, and that doesn't play to our strength.

“When we were able to slash into the basket, we weren't able to get any second chance points off of rebounds.”

Buckingham went up 10-5 on a three-pointer by senior guard Cam Johnson with 1:41 left in the first quarter, and led by three at the quarter break, before Dan River took the lead for good on three consecutive three-pointers to start the second quarter.

Dan River guard Terrell Edmonds banked in a three-pointer off the square moments into the quarter, and Tyronne Adams followed with two straight long-range shots to give the Wildcats a 16-10 lead.

Buckingham pulled to within a point at 18-17 after two Timmy Randolph free throws with 2:50 left in the half, but a runner by Adams on DR's ensuing possession sparked a 9-2 run over the balance of the quarter to give the Wildcats a 27-19 lead at the half.

A steal and layup by Johnson with five minutes left in the third quarter cut the Wildcats' lead to eight points at 31-23, and two consecutive jumpers by Randolph late in the quarter kept the Knights within eight at 37-29 with a minute left in the third.

Up 40-32 to begin the fourth quarter, Dan River pushed its lead to ten points on a layup by Tremaine Edmunds, and led 46-34 with 5:44 left.

Buckingham cut the lead to five with 4:26 left with four foul shots by Johnson and a three-point-play by Tariq Bartee. A missed layup on Buckingham's end, was followed up by an Adams three-pointer at the 3:37 mark to put the Wildcats back up 49-41.

Again, Buckingham was able to cut the lead to five points after a pair of free throws by Kyree Koonce with 2:42 left, but Adams buried another three pointer to push the lead back to seven at 42-44.

“I really think that killed us,” said Gowin. “Every time we got something going, [Adams] came up with a big shot. To do it once, was one thing, but to do it again, was a big blow.”

Adams led Dan River with 21 points on the evening, while Bayshawn Jones added 14. TyQuonne Adams added a double-double of 11 points and 11 rebounds, and Terrell and Tremaine Edmunds scored nine and eight points, respectively.

Randolph led all scorers with 23 points on the evening on 9-17 shooting. He also pulled down 12 rebounds to lead the Knights on the boards. Johnson scored 18 points on the evening, and was a rock-solid 8-9 shooting at the foul line. Dre Scott was held scoreless, but pulled down six rebounds, and Bartee led the team in assists with three.

“Our kids hung in there, and kept it close, and I'm proud of them for that,” said Gowin. “We, of course, would've liked to have won this one to get into the state tournament, but it's still been a great season. We went 23-2, had the second most wins in school history, and did some great things along the way.

“Right now, we're disappointed. When you play for a bigger reward, your disappointment is bigger when you don't reach it, but in time, that will heal and I think our guys will look back on this season as something special.”