James River overcame a cold shooting second half to claim its first-ever Group A, Division 2 state title with a 47-43 win over the Buckingham County Knights Saturday evening at the Siegel Center in Richmond.  All five Knights starters played the entire game.  

Buckingham (21-4) would score the first three points of the game on a trey by Tarian Ayers with 6:12 showing. A Patrick Bennett jumper started a 10-0 James River (28-2) run that ended on a three-pointer by Buckingham's Caleb White at the 1:28 mark, making it 10-6, James River. When the quarter ended, James River held a 15-9 advantage.

In the second quarter, Jordan Talbott would have the hot hand early, as he scored the Knights' first seven points to make it 22-11 at the 6:25 mark. James River would continue to control the tempo, as they pulled out to a 32-23 halftime led.

Buckingham trailed by nine, 32-23, heading into the third quarter. Buckingham would outscore James River 12-2 in the third quarter to take a slim 35-34 lead into the pivotal fourth quarter.

James River went more than five minutes in the fourth quarter without scoring, before Humphries broke the drought with a layup. Late in the quarter, trailing 38-37, Ethan Humphries buried a three-pointer with 1:08 remaining to give James River the lead, and the Knights would make seven free throws down the stretch to pull out the 47-43 victory and their first-ever Group A, Division 2 state title.

Taylor Boyers paced Buckingham with a game-high 16 points and 11 rebounds. Harry Eldridge contributed 11 points.

James River, which shot only 3-of-17 from the floor in the second half, was led by Patrick Bennett's 15 points. Jordan Talbott tossed in 14 points and Ethan Humphires finished with 13 points.