The Mathews High School junior varsity boys’ basketball team fell to conference foe Middlesex in a close battle at home Tuesday night, 52-46.

The Blue Devils came out strong, playing even with the Chargers. However, with a minute left in the first half, the Devils allowed Middlesex to go on a run that put the Chargers up by six points going into halftime.

Mathews came out in the third quarter aiming to take the lead and went on an 8-0 run, scoring 19 points. As the third quarter ended, the two teams were tied. Mathews was hoping to pull away with the lead, but the Chargers wouldn’t go away.

Mathews started to tire as the game went on, and Middlesex went on another run with two minutes left. Only down by two points with 30 seconds left, Mathews was forced to foul in an effort to get the ball back, hoping that Middlesex would miss its free throws, but the Chargers made their last four. Mathews rebounded well against the taller team, but turnovers and missed f...