By Duncan Nixon
Correspondent
The Fluvanna boys basketball team hosted the Goochland County Bulldogs on Jan. 12. The teams came in with somewhat comparable records. Fluvanna was 5-6 and Goochland 4-7, so a close game might have been expected. Not so. The Flucos were clearly the stronger team, and by a wide margin.
The game was basically over at half time, the Flucos doubled up on the Bulldogs, leading 38-19. By the fourth quarter, with the Flucos leading by more than 30 points, the basketball equivalent of the mercy rule was put into effect and the clock was allowed to run constantly.
Fluco forwards, sophomore Sean Tyler and junior Benny Denby, were too tall – Denby -and too powerful -Tyler – for the Bulldog forecourt players, Coach Heath Bralley commented after the game that it was nice to have a height advantage for a change. Tyler simply powered his way to the basket on a number of occasions. He had 11 points, all inside, in the first half. In the third quarter, he added nine more, with three inside baskets and a three-point shot. Denby put up 15 points, all on the inside.
Inside passes are often a risk, and sometimes one pass too many. However, on this night the Flucos excelled at inside passing, making crisp and accurate feeds to their big men. The Flucos had 21 assists. Senior guard JaTavion Lucas led with five assists and three other Flucos had four assists. Senior guard Chazz Barksdale-White threw several nice feeds to Tyler and Denby. He had six points, while sophomore guard Sam Loving chipped in with nine. Nine Flucos got into the scoring column.
In the first quarter, senior guard Dajuan Robinson gave the Flucos an early 8-2 lead with a pretty three pointer. At the end of the quarter, Lucas scored five quick points on a three pointer and a steal, to put the Fluco up 19-11. Tyler had seven in the first quarter and Denby had seven in the second quarter.
The third quarter was a complete blowout. The Flucos outscored the Bulldogs 23-4. The Fluco defense was outstanding. It forced turnovers and bad shots throughout the eight minutes of play. For the game, the Flucos recorded 17 points off turnovers, while the Bulldogs recorded a mere two points off turnovers. Tyler scored nine in the quarter and Barksdale-White added six.
Due to the running clock, the fourth quarter was low scoring. Bralley had his back-up players on the floor and the Bulldogs and the Flucos each scored seven points.
The Flucos are now more than halfway through their season. They hosted a strong Turner Ashby squad on Jan. 15. On Jan. 16 they traveled to Monticello High School. On Jan.19, they will host Louisa High. On Jan. 23, they host Western Albemarle, and on Jan. 26 they travel to Orange County.
