Amherst surges past Rustburg in OT for Seminole boys tourney title

Amherst senior Jeremy Darby didn’t hesitate in going up for the jump ball to start the overtime period in Friday night’s Seminole District boys championship game, played before a packed Heritage High Fieldhouse crowd.

The 6-foot-4 forward outleaped Rustburg’s 6-8 senior Marshall Wood and flicked the tip to Lancers point guard A.J. Richerson, who took it in for a breakaway score despite being fouled, completing the three-point play.

That set the tone for the final four minutes as Amherst, which overcame deficits of 10-0 in the first quarter and 27-15 at the half, pulled away for a 65-56 triumph.

"This is big for us," said Richerson, who finished with a game-high 22 points, including 9-for-10 from the free throw line. "We’ve been playing together since middle school and we’ve dreamed of days like this and we went out there and worked hard and got it done."

The Lancers sank 21 of their 24 free throws, including 10 for 12 in the 15-point overtime, to seal the win.

"Coach [Eddie Carter] stressed to us that we needed to knock down free throws and as you can see, that’s what won us this game," Richerson said. "I just try to go up with confidence and knock the shot down."

Carter was selected the Seminole District coach of the year.

Rustburg point guard Marcus Patrick (12 points) forced OT by swishing a 10-foot jumper in the middle of the lane, knotting the game at 50 with 10 seconds left in regulation.

But the Lancers (22-3), who lost twice to Rockbridge County and once to the Red Devils (16-6) at home, stole the momentum in extra time.

"I have confidence in Darby," said Richerson, who had turned the ball over, preventing Amherst from getting a final shot off in the fourth quarter. "Darby looked at me on the tip ball and I knew it was on from there, I knew I had to finish."

"I knew we needed that ball so I went up and got it and we won it," Darby added.

Rustburg coach Brantley Shields said Wood mis-timed his leap.

"It was kind of a funny tip," he said. "The official kind of double-clutched it and Marshall jumped early and they got a run out and it is what it is."

Wood, the Seminole District player of the year who has committed to Virginia Tech, totaled 17 points before fouling out in overtime.

Darby finished with 15 points, including a long 3-point swish to bring the Lancers back within 33-31 at the end of the third quarter, seven rebounds and five blocked shots, nearly as many as Wood.

"Darby knew he had to get down and play against the best player in our district, and probably the whole state," Richerson said. "So he knew it was big for us to play defense and that’s what he did."

Ashton Brown added 17 points and nine rebounds for Amherst, sinking three 3-pointers and back-to-back 2s that lifted the Lancers to a 37-36 lead midway through the fourth quarter.

The Lancers’ defense held Rustburg scoreless for the first five minutes of the second half.

"They played a really good pressure defense," Wood said. "They kind of got us disgruntled and we made turnovers and that kind of initiated their offense."

"Both teams competed really, really hard," Shields added. "We stopped getting the ball inside and they did a nice job defensively and we didn’t make some shots."

The sizeable crowd for a game played at a central location got their money’s worth and more, and the players thrived off of it.

"This is a great high school basketball environment and any time kids get to play in front of this, it’s a lot of fun," Shields said.

"Great crowd, loud, everything," Richerson added. "We love it. We feed off of the energy of the crowd."

The Lancers await the winner between William Byrd and Lord Botetourt in Thursday’s Region III, Division 4, semifinal at Staunton River.

Rustburg will host Northside in Monday’s Region III, Division 3, opener.

"They’re big inside and we’ll have to be prepared and ready to go," Shields said.