It took one quarter for the Fluvanna County boys basketball team to get into a rhythm, but once the Flucos settled down, they were hard to stop.
Fluvanna used a second-quarter surge to gain a sizeable advantage on Jefferson District rival Louisa County and never looked back en route to a 67-46 win in its home opener on Friday night.
“It’s a big win for us. We wanted to win our first home game and it was a big district game for us and a big rivalry,” said Fluvanna coach Munro Rateau, whose team improved to 2-0 in district play. “I was really pleased with the way we played.”
Louisa (1-1) trailed by three points at the end of the first quarter, but the Flucos quickly increased that margin, breaking off a 16-5 spurt to gain a commanding lead.
YaYa Anderson led the way during that span, scoring 10 points (6-for-6 from the free-throw line), including a nifty basket underneath after a steal to give Fluvanna a 28-14 lead. The junior guard led all scorers with 19 points and grabbed six rebounds.
“In the first quarter we came out a little sluggish and [the coaches] got on us,” said Anderson, who also had six assists and a pair of steals. “We called a timeout, drew some things on the board and we executed them.”
Fluvanna, which led 33-19 at halftime, was able to break the visitors’ press to get some baskets in transition and was dominant inside throughout the game.
“They pressed us in the first quarter and we broke the press and missed some easy shots. In the second quarter we did the same thing against their press and we made shots so that was the big difference,” Rateau added. “We had the same shots in the second quarter as we had in the first but we made them in the second quarter.”
The Flucos maintained their intensity in the second half and led by double digits the rest of the way. In addition to Anderson, Fluvanna got a boost from football standout T.J. Dudley, who registered a double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds. In fact, in the third quarter, Dudley scored five straight points, including an offensive putback and the ensuing free throw as Fluvanna went ahead 43-24.
Fluvanna had a balanced scoring attack as nine different players reached the scoring column. Josh Hinkle added eight points, while Jordan Green finished with seven, and Jamal Tolliver had six rebounds.
For Louisa, Elijah Payne was the lone player to finish in double figures. Payne had 12 points, eight of which came in the second half. Anthony Hunter finished with seven.
Fluvanna entertains Spotsylvania in a non-district game on Tuesday while Louisa visits Spotsylvania on Wednesday.
