Fluvanna County boys basketball just had to stick with the plan.
“We were following through with the coaches’ game plan and shots weren’t falling,” said Fluvanna sophomore Kobe Edmonds. “We kept shooting and shots started falling — we just kept playing.”
Those shots started falling in bunches. The Flucos outscored their own production over the first three quarters with a 33-point fourth to storm back from 11 down and beat Goochland 66-57, avenging an earlier season loss to the Bulldogs.
Edmonds was instrumental in that late deluge, pouring in 20 of his 27 points in the final frame including knocking down 16 of 20 free throws for the game with the bulk of them coming in the fourth. Edmonds’ critical stretch came with about three minutes left where he buried a 3-pointer to tie the game at 55-55. Then almost immediately he swiped a Goochland pass and finished the ensuing fastbreak for a 57-55 lead that Fluvanna didn’t relinquish thanks to Malachi Hill scoring at the 2:15 mark to push the lead to 59-55.
“(Edmonds) makes big plays on a regular basis and we’ve started to have young players chip in,” said Fluvanna coach Heath Bralley. “Everyone is stepping up, you have to have a group, it can’t just be one or two guys.”
Edmonds went point-for-point with Kam Holman, who poured in 27 points himself on the night to go with six bards and five steals, going 15-for-15 at the line himself. Holman was a huge reason the Bulldogs had built that 43-32 lead going into the fourth, but things unraveled from there as the Flucos found their stride and snagged a critical out-of-district win.
“We don’t quit, we fight for lack of a better term all the way down the stretch,” Bralley said. “I think we’re on an upswing.”
That duel between Edmonds and Holman wasn’t the only offense in the emotionally charged game, though at times it seemed like it. Quincy Snead had 14 points and James Bell chipped in 11 for the Bulldogs while Fluvanna got nine points from Isaac Rivera and eight from Hill.
The Bulldogs continue a challenging week with a clash against Buckingham Thursday while the Flucos square off with Charlottesville in Jefferson District play Tuesday night.
