Fluvanna County’s boys basketball team was caught up in a nip and tuck battle against Liberty Christian Academy for three quarters Thursday night in the Region 3C semifinals.
But the Flucos found another gear in the fourth and for the first time in 10 years, Fluvanna County is state tournament-bound, upsetting LCA 89-77 to continue what is decidedly a Cinderella run for the region’s No.7 seed.
“In the locker room it was kind of emotional and I said three years ago that when I was blessed enough to get this job I never thought I’d be in a spot to play for a championship but more importantly, play for a championship with a bunch of great guys,” said Fluvanna coach Heath Bralley. “I’d do anything for them or with them. We truly are a family.”
A key part of that family is the Flucos’ trio of guards, Kobe Edmonds, Bobby Gardner and Lance Bruce. Any given night any of the three can carry the load and Thursday they did the lifting together, with Bruce scoring 32 points, Gardner notching 25 (including 14 in the fourth) and Edmonds finishing with 15, 10 of which came in the fourth quarter on his birthday.
“Our three guards are as good as any three guards – I’ll put them up against anyone in the region or the state,” Bralley said. “Bobby with his energy and constant effort, Kobe with his IQ and tonight it was Lance Bruce, the silent assassin who never says a word, hits a bunch of shots and you look up at one point and he’s got 25.”
LCA led the game 58-56 going into the fourth and that’s when the Flucos just flipped a switch, going on a 15-6 run at the start of the fourth to take a 71-64 lead with 4:39 to play. The offensive assault continued from there as they built that into a 13-point lead with 1:09 to play and LCA couldn’t get much closer than that down the stretch.
“We were more poised,” Edmonds said. “We’ve got a lot of young players but I think they’ve learned from experience. Coach Bralley coaches us well and we’re just ready for the spur of the moment. As we get deeper into the game, I feel like we settle ourselves down and just let it come to us.”
It’s fitting that over this crazy three-game run to advance to the state tournament, Edmonds scored 32 points against Rustburg, Gardner scored 32 against Wilson Memorial and Lance Bruce dropped 32 against LCA in the Thursday win. Bruce joked that he was feeling a little pressure after those two previous performances.
“I had to fit in with them (after that),” Bruce said. “I had a really good shootaround, as soon as that first shot went in everything was just good for me.We have really good team chemistry and it really helps us and it has really gotten better over the year.”
Throw in eight points from Blaise Silverman including a pair of 3-pointers and the Flucos can get it done offensively in so many different ways and Gardner’s huge fourth shows how challenging it can be to try and lock off one or two of the three guards. Clamp down on Bruce and Edmonds and Gardner will make you pay.
“Once me, Kobe and Lance get started nobody can stop us,” Gardner said. “It’s very special. We talked early this year about going to get us one (a championship) and with what we’re doing now it looks like we’re going after one.”
They’re going after a title Saturday night at 8 p.m. when the Flucos head to Spotswood with a Region 3C championship on the line.
Fluvanna County boys basketball extends its Cinderella run in the Region 3C tournament as the No. 7 seed Flucos advance to the region final and earn a state tournament berth with an 89-77 upset on the road of No. 3 seed LCA. pic.twitter.com/jriMqEqbfs
— scrimmageplay (@scrimmageplay) February 25, 2022
