Less than 24 hours after their loss to Western Albemarle on Friday, Fluvanna’s boys basketball team hosted Goochland for their Senior Night festivities. In that short timeframe, the team was able to regroup and bounce back, beating the Bulldogs 62-45.
“I was really pleased with how we bounced back — we could have let that affect how we started today and how we finished, and we didn’t,” said Fluvanna coach Heath Bralley. “We certainly didn’t forget about it because it’s still on our minds, but we put that game aside and focused on the next one, which is what you have to do in a season like this.”
The Flucos were missing standout point guard Kobe Edmonds due to a hamstring injury, but on Senior Night the four seniors appropriately had huge roles in the win. John Rittenhouse knocked down four three-pointers and ended the game with 13 points. Marquel Franklin hit three threes of his own and had 11 points. Daniel Campbell had seven points and was a force defensively and on the glass. Xavier Copeland stepped up too, scoring another seven points and guarding Goochland star Kameron Holman and holding him to just six points in the first three quarters.
“They each bring something very different, but they’re all very important parts of our family, they’re very awesome people more than anything, they’re great young men and any one I would be proud to call my son if they were,” said Bralley. “Basketball-wise, they bring different talents and abilities just like in life, but they’re truly, truly great people which is most important.”
The Flucos went to the half with an 11-point lead, but the third quarter is where they caught fire as a team. They put up 30 points in the quarter, and defensively made life very difficult for the Bulldogs, forcing them into a lot of turnovers that turned into points for the Flucos.
“We didn’t take care of the ball, their pressure turned us over, but we made some self-inflicted wounds today, we hurt ourselves on a lot of different things today,” said Goochland coach Preston Gordon. “Fluvanna came out and hit some shots early in the first, and then the third quarter they exploded, they had 30 and we had 13, I think that’s pretty much what happened right there.”
The Bulldogs got a couple of standout performances from Holman, who ended with 10 points and Jack Hoffler who led the team with 13 points.
The next matchup for the Flucos has them traveling to Monticello on Tuesday, while the Bulldogs will host Windsor on Monday.
