By Duncan Nixon
Correspondent
The Fluco boys basketball squad hosted the Wilson Memorial Hornets on Dec. 6. The Flucos and the Hornets both scored 29 points in the first and third quarters combined. Unfortunately, The Flucos were outscored by nine in the second quarter and by eleven in the fourth.
The game started with both teams playing deliberately. The Flucos won the first quarter 12-11. Junior guard Kemaan Massie had six points including a three point basket that was the only three point shot the Flucos made all game.
In the second quarter, the Hornets opened the scoring with a three point basket and ended the quarter with another three. They canned two other shots from downtown and scored 12 of their 14 points from long range. The Flucos were not hitting their shots and only scored five points in the quarter. They trailed at the half 25-17.
The third quarter was evenly played, but the Flucos could not close the gap, they trailed by 8-10 points throughout the quarter. The Flucos were down by nine after three periods 43-34. In the third quarter, the Flucos had seven players in the scoring column. Senior forward DeAndre McCloud had two baskets and the Flucos made seven free throws.
In the fourth quarter, Fluco coach Heath Bralley made a gamble and went to a full court press. His team is not big but they are quick, so a full court press was a reasonable attempt to cut into the Hornets lead. The press did create some turnovers for the Flucos, but it also opened up the game, leading to a lot of back and forth action. The Hornets got the better of this open play, with powerful drives to the basket, scoring 27 points in the quarter to win going away.
A number of team statistics for the game were quite even. Both teams turned the ball over 13 times. Assists were 15 for Wilson and 12 for the Flucos. Total rebounds were 36 for the Flucos and 35 for the Hornets. The telling team statistic was obvious when reviewing the stat sheet. Wilson made 7 of 20 from three-point range, a fairly normal success rate. On the other hand, the Flucos were one for sixteen from long range. It is inconceivable in this age of three-point shooting for a team to win with 1 for 16 shooting from long range. Massie led the Flucos in scoring with 12 points, while Key contributed 10. McCloud pitched with eight points.
The Flucos now host Goochland on Dec. 13 and Monticello High on Dec.16. After that, they travel to Wilson Memorial for a rematch on Dec. 19 and host Louisa High on Dec. 20.
