The set up was perfect and so was the stage. After being held scoreless in the first quarter, Fluvanna County’s YaYa Anderson started to warm up in the second and third. To start the faouth quarter, it was clear he was ready to explode as he knocked down a three pointer on his team’s first possession. Anderson was kind enough to save his best for late. The visiting Flucos were all tied up with hosting Charlottesville heading into the fourth quarter. A 20-point fourth quarter from Anderson proved more than enough fire power offensively for Fluvanna, and a 1-3-1 defense playing a superb second half, the Flucos took down the Black Knights 61-48.
“We knew it was going to be a tough game,” said Fluvanna coach Munro Rateau. “We came out and took their best shot early… we’re ecstatic about winning and now we’ll try and settle down and get ready for Thursday.”
It’s was all about 3-point plays for Anderson, and he only hit a pair of shots from beyond the arc, but in the lane the senior plowed through defenders and seemingly finished on every play, drawing a slew of fouls in the process. With the game tied up at 35 to begin the fourth, Anderson gave his team the lead for good on a frame opening three. Moments later, the Flucos were up five thanks a play underneath from Anderson. Fluvanna continued to thrive on offense, and Charlottesville could not get any closer than within five points inside the four minute mark as Fluvanna’s big playmaker went to the free throw line again and again and did not disappoint there.
“I think we had a different mindset (in the second half),” Anderson said. “We came out a little slow in the first and second quarter and coach came out and chewed us out a little bit. We knew what we had to do.”
In the end Anderson finished with 32 points behind the big finish. At the stripe he hit 14 of his 17 attempts. And his six steals and five rebounds didn’t hurt either.
Anderson’s fourth quarter wound up overshadowing the other big hero of the game — Fluvanna’s defense. Charlottesville got off to a solid start to the night, taking a 16-7 lead in the first frame. However, offense was hard to find after that between the Flucos taking away the key with their 1-3-1 and the Black Knights struggling mightily to hit the shots they found in the gaps of the defense.
With the defense settling in during the second quarter, Fluvanna worked its way out of the early hole behind the offense of Blake Hills and Vinny Agee as they helped make it just a 1-point deficit going into halftime.
Agee, has second to Anderson for his team in scoring, finishing with nine points. More importantly though, he had a monster night defensively at the top of Fluvanna’s 1-3-1. The freshman had four steals, including a pair of crucial swipes in the fourth as Charlottesville tried to reverse the court.
“I don’t think (Agee’s defense in the 1-3-1) is a secret anymore,” Rateau said. “He’s so long and athletic. He kind of plays away from the ball and then when Brad Bullock comes into the play the top, he’s all up on them. So it gives us two different looks up there on the front and that’s what makes the 1-3-1 work, is those two playing at the top.”
Charlottesville’s depth proved important early with Taquan Wicks coming off the bench to find a way to provide an offensive spark and register 10 points. Daquan Jones had a strong end-to-end game as he owned the glass, finishing with 11 rebounds and providing an inside presence on offense with 12 points. Darius Watson finished with seven points.
The Black Knights, the loss comes but not for a lack of effort as they dominated the rebounding game, but could not finish on their second and third chance opportunities, much less overcome their fourth quarter turnovers.
“They took three cross court passes from us and almost back-to-back-to-back and that was what really hurt us there at the end,” said Charlottesville coach Mitch Minor. “I was proud of the way we played the first three quarters, we just lost it a bit there at the end. The guys played hard and I think we just didn’t shoot the ball very well, 1-for-14 on three’s, we can shoot better than that.”
Black Knights (6-4, 0-2 Jefferson District) host Louisa County on Thursday at 7:30 p.m.
Fluvanna (12-1, 3-0) head to Powhatan, also on Thursday at 7:30 p.m.
