By Duncan Nixon
Correspondent
The William Monroe Dragons from Stanardsville came to Fluvanna on Jan. 27 and could not match the Flucos in three-point shooting. The Flucos sank 11 of 25 from beyond the arc, for an impressive 44 percent. The Dragons, on the other hand, made only 3 of 19 long range attempts. The Flucos started on top and held on throughout in a game that Coach Heath Bralley described as “hotly contested.” The Flucos jumped to 17-13 lead at the end of the first quarter. They built their lead to 28-21 at the half. Not much changed in the third quarter and the Flucos were up by six going to the final stanza. The Flucos won the fourth quarter by seven points, upping their offensive production significantly with a 23-point quarter.
The Dragons had two strong players and as a result, Bralley put his team in a rare triangle and two defense. This means that three players defend in a triangle zone, while two defenders play the other team’s leading scorers man to man. This tactic seemed to disrupt the Dragons.
Leading the way for the Flucos was senior guard Bobby Gardner with 19 points. He also contributed some tough defense. Second in scoring for the Flucos was senior guard Tyler Coleman. He had 13 points, including 3 for 5 from downtown. Senior Lance Bruce was right behind with ten points. Chazz Barksdale-White contributed eight points and Kenyon Smith had seven. Fluco big man sophomore Ben Denby was lauded by Bralley for clogging the middle with Smith assisting.
The Flucos are now 6-2. They played at Charlottesville on Jan. 3. They will host Goochland County on Jan. 6. On Jan. 9 they will host Orange County in a make-up of a game postponed earlier in the season. On Jan. 13 they will host Louisa County.
