March 10, 2009

The Charlottesville boys and girls basketball teams both saw their exceptional seasons draw to a close on Tuesday night. Both Black Knight squads fell in state semifinal action, falling just two wins shy of a state championship.

Mitch Minor's boys had a back-and-forth battle with Courtland. Charlottesville would take a three point lead late in the fourth quarter, but had it erased, as Luke Sellers connected on a three pointer to tie the game at 60. The Cougars would regain possession of the ball, and Lamar Giggets drew a foul in the late with 2.8 seconds remaining. Giggets made the first free throw and missed the second, but the ball was knocked out of bounds off of Charlottesville, closing the door on the Knights' chances.

The Charlottesville girls took on Loudoun County, the same team that beat them to claim the Region II title. Loudoun controlled the game, winning by a 77-44 count. Taniqua Williams scored 20 points and pulled down 13 rebounds in the loss to lead the Knights, while Shawntae Payne posted 12 points.

The Madison boys become the only area team remaining in the VHSL playoffs. The Mountaineers face Dan River in semifinal action on Thursday at 7:00.