By Duncan Nixon
Correspondent
In the last regularly scheduled game of a shortened basketball season, the Fluco boys’ basketball team led throughout behind a bombardment of three point shots. The Mustangs from Monticello high could not keep up and they fell to the Flucos 73-58 on Feb. 5. It was senior night for the Flucos.
The Flucos were led by junior shooting guard Maurice D’Alessandra who scored a game high 31 points, including six three-point baskets. Forward John Rittenhouse had three three pointers and sophomore point guard Lance Bruce contributed one. Bruce filled in very competently for starting point guard Kobe Edmonds who sat out with a hamstring injury.
The Flucos took the lead early as D’Alessandra had two threes in the first quarter and Rittenhouse and Bruce each hit one from downtown. The Fluco led 20-16 at the end of the opening period. In the second quarter, the Flucos upped their lead to 12. It was 38-26 at halftime. D’Alessandra and Rittenhouse both hit three pointers and Jalen Ferguson had three inside lay-up baskets, one on a nifty pass from Bruce.
The third quarter was pretty evenly matched as the Mustangs outscored the Flucos 14-12. So, going into the final quarter the Flucos were up 50-40. In the third quarter, D’Alessandra had two bombs from long range and two-point baskets were scored by Xavier Copeland, Daniel Campbell and Marques Franklin. The fourth quarter was the highest scoring of the game, mainly because the Flucos made their free throws down the stretch. D’Alessandro was five for five on free throws in the quarter and nine for nine in the game. The Flucos made 11 from the line in the fourth quarter. D’Alessandra and Rittenhouse both had three pointers in the quarter. The Flucos won going away 73-58.
In addition to D’Alessandra’s 31, Rittenhouse had 12 points and Bruce contributed 11. The Flucos ended their regular season with a 10-4 record. After the game, Coach Heath Bralley noted that he thought his team showed resilience and played well in Edmonds’ absence. He noted he is proud that the team put up 10 wins in a 14 game regular season. The play-offs started on Monday, with the Flucos traveling to Fort Defiance High School.
