Goochland capitalizes on Charles City miscues to snap Panthers’ three-game winning streak

Charles City's Kobie Trull (24) looks for a way to slow down Goochland sharpshooter Gabe Liptak.

Robb Johnson photo

Coming down the stretch of the regular season, Charles City’s Panthers looked to add another win to the column and stringing three consecutive victories together. But a lack of mental toughness and inefficiency at the free throw line led to a downfall.

Goochland’s Bulldogs edged out Charles City 61-59 in the Feb. 3 matchup that dropped the hosts to 6-5 on the season.

Early on, Charles City controlled the pace of the game, orchestrating a 7-0 run led by sophomore guard Tayvion Harris. The visiting Bulldogs battled back into the contest before Charles City settled with a 13-9 lead at the end of the first frame. And while the Panthers attempted to keep a reasonable amount of distance, Goochland countered every time with a scoring run of their own. By the time the halftime intermission hit, Charles City held a three-point margin (28-25).

Kameron Johnson’s three pointer to begin the half doubled up the hosts’ advantage. But while Johnson pumped in 13 of his team’s 15 points in the quarter, Goochland’s Gabe Liptak started to find the bottom of the net. The guard dropped in nine points, with his last of his three pointers giving the visitors their first lead of the night (36-35). Both teams alternated leads before Charles City emerged with a two-point advantage at the end of three (43-41).

A Keondre Barnes steal and assist to Johnson bumped the Panthers advantage back up to four, but Goochland continued to fight back with each basket, using a 6-0 run to take the lead after Kameron Holman’s steal and lay-in (49-47).

Trailing by two (51-49), the Panthers had ample opportunities to take the lead late in regulation. But missed free throws by Johnson and Bryan Lewis Jr. thwarted the effort. However, Johnson’s baseline lay-in knotted the game at 51 apiece. A last second three-pointer from the corner by Liptak caromed off the rim, sending the game into overtime.

Charles City jumped out to a four-point lead to kickoff the extra period, but Goochland countered the hosts’ offensive output. With the score tied at 59 apiece, Bulldog guard J.D. Mills was able to split a trap and find forward De’Andre Robinson cutting down the lane. Robinson’s floater with 5.9 seconds remaining gave Goochland a 61-59 lead.

Charles City drove down the court with Johnson being able to get off a three-pointer in the corner. While it fell short, a jump ball possession favored the home team with 0.3 seconds remaining. A lob to Johnson made a successful connection, but his tap in bounced off the right side of the rim, ending the contest and the Panthers’ three-game winning streak.

After the contest, Charles City Head Coach Terrell Brooks commented that his team had ample opportunities to win the game despite their miscues.

“Free throws matter and going into the break, we were like four for ten,” he said. “We lost by two.

“We still had opportunities that we had to take advantage of,” he continued. “We were up by four in overtime, but defensively we just got out of it and I do not know where we went wrong at. The last basket that they got is actually a play we run, and they got a good look because we overshot it on defense.

“We still had two good looks at the end, but we just missed shots,” Brooks concluded.

One bright spot on the night was Johnson eclipsing the 1,500-point barrier in his high school career by scoring 36 points in the loss. Harris also finished in double figures with 10 points. Taylor Bey pitched in with six, Liam Sweeney tossed in three, and the duo of Lewis Jr. and Barnes chipped in with two points apiece.