Nansemond River High School’s boys’ basketball team suffered a devastating buzzer-beater loss to Gloucester this week.

The Warriors’ Conference 10 game at home against Gloucester High School came on the heels of a 12-day break for NRHS.

Nansemond River started the game strong, taking a 21-14 lead after one quarter of play. The Dukes’ leading scorer, Demetri Sills, did not play the whole first quarter. Sills played in the second quarter and scored seven points for his team and helped the Dukes outscore the Warriors 18-9, giving Gloucester 32-30 halftime lead.

In the third quarter, both teams traded buckets back and forth. The Dukes won their second consecutive quarter of the game outscoring the Warriors 14-10. GHS had a 46-40 lead after three quarters of play.

During the fourth quarter, the Warriors chipped away at the deficit and took the lead. They were up by as much as five points at one point in the fourth quarter.

“We started playing a little shaky, so I had to calm the team down,” Warriors coach Ed Young said. “We had two unforced turnovers in a row that hurt us.”

Gloucester capitalized on the Warriors’ turnovers, which eventually led to both teams being tied at 56 after regulation time. In overtime, both teams were neck and neck. The Dukes had a 64-61 lead before Tyler Chatman hit a three to tie the game 64-64.

Shortly after that, Gloucester took a timeout with four seconds remaining. Gloucester inbounded the ball to Sills, and he knocked down a three-pointer giving them a three-point lead with two seconds remaining. A failed half-court heave by Nansemond River ended the game.

Nansemond River shot 10-20 from the free-throw line for the game. The Warriors were 1-4 in the overtime period. Jeremiah Lewis had 16 points and 12 rebounds to lead the way for the Warriors. Gerard Stringer added 11 points and six rebounds. Chatman added 10 points off the bench. Sills finished with 23 points in three-quarters of play.

“We had opportunities,” Young said. “Tough loss to handle, because we did play well enough to win.”

Nansemond River has lost two back-to-back games to buzzer beaters and now have lost 10 games in a row.

“It’s frustrating,” Stringer said. “We’ve been working really hard, and I think we deserve a win.”