The game against Spotsylvania disproved the commonly repeated adage that all basketball games are decided in the last four minutes. The Flucos won this game in the first quarter. The game started very slowly as neither team could hit from the field in the early going. The Flucos’ 1-3-1 zone was annoying Spotsylvania and the Flucos’ shots were also not going down.
After three and a half minutes the Flucos got on the board as Vinnie Agee made a nice feed to Talavious Hughes for a lay-up on a fast break. Hughes scored again shortly thereafter, for a 4-1 lead. With 3:34 on the clock, Coach Munro Rateau sent in a whole new platoon of players, and they managed to up the pace, scoring ten points in the last three minutes. Eight of the ten points were split between senior guard Hunter DeForge and junior guard Chris Washington. The quarter ended with the Flucos leading 14-3. The Fluco defense held the Knights to three free throws and no field goals for eight minutes of play.
The Flucos’ 11 point first quarter lead was enough of a cushion for them to control the rest of the contest. Spotsylvania, hitting from long range, did close to within four points at one point in the fourth quarter, but the Flucos led wire to wire and won by a comfortable ten points. Interestingly, the Flucos’ long ball shooting was way off in this game as they failed to sink a single three point shot. However, due to a strong defensive and rebounding team effort the game was always in the Flucos’ control.
The Flucos had balanced scoring in this game, as nine players made it into the scoring column. Hughes led the way with 13 points. Agee had 11, ten of which came in the third quarter. KaShawn Anderson chipped in with ten points. Deforge had seven and Jake Mooney contributed six, all in the final quarter. The Flucos only outscored the Knights by 39-37 in the second half, but that was sufficient in light of their first quarter margin.
In the first game of the Christmas Bash Tournament the Flucos fell to E.C. Glass by a score of 63-55. This was the Flucos’ third loss of the season and with the win over Spotsylvania, the Flucos record now stands at 7-3. Against E. C. Glass, Agee led the scoring for the Flucos with 17. Mooney was in double figures with ten and sophomore guard Jameel Wilson tallied nine.
After the Spotsylvania game, Rateau noted that his squad can play very well over three and four minute stretches, but still needs to develop more consistency. In particular, he noted that the players still have not developed the killer instinct he would like to see. They do not finish off an opponent once they get ahead. He did, however, point out that the teams’ rebounding aggressiveness is improving.
The Flucos schedule for the rest of the year is mostly Jefferson District play. On Jan.2 they hosted Western Albemarle. On Jan 6 and 9, they travel to Charlottesville and Waynesboro. They are home against Louisa County on Jan. 13, and then play two more road games at Orange County and Albemarle on Jan. 15 and 20.
