For the first time since 1981, Fluvanna County’s boys basketball team took the floor without head coach Munro Rateau on the sidelines as the Flucos’ head coach missed the first game of his career because of sickness.
But even though Rateau wasn’t in the gym, Fluvanna and Western Albemarle battled down the wire in the latest installment of the Jefferson District rivalry, with the Warriors snagging a 57-54 victory with strong free throw shooting down the stretch.
“That was a little different (not having Rateau on the opposing bench) but it was still his program and system and Jason (Davis) has been with him so long that I don’t know that the game went much different than it would’ve gone,” said Western coach Darren Maynard.
The Warriors hit a pair of 3-pointers midway through the fourth quarter, one by Carter Berry and another by Josh Casteen, giving Western a 49-43 lead with a little more than four minutes to play.
“We called the timeout and I challenged them right there,” said Fluvanna assistant Jason Davis, who filled in for Rateau. “I said ‘we can either give up or we can come out and fight to the bitter end.’ I thought they did a tremendous job of executing the game plan and we’re going to be a really good basketball team when we get it all together.”
Jamil Wilson led the charge down the stretch for the Flucos, scoring seven of his 10 points in the fourth quarter. Wilson attacked the basket relentlessly in the closing minutes, and that helped keep Fluvanna within striking distance. But Western kept hitting free throws, leaving the Flucos with just one more chance with under five seconds to play.
“In those late game situations (Rateau) being there would’ve probably been better than me, he’s got 520 wins and I’ve got none but that is what it is.”
After rebounding a rare Western miss at the line, Fluvanna pushed the ball up the floor but an errant pass flew out of bounds, all but securing the win for Western. The Warriors inbounded and drew a foul, made one of two at the line and time expired during the rebound after the miss.
“That stretch where we hit two threes gave us a six-point cushion and from that point on the saving grace was the way that we shot free throws,” Maynard said. “I’d have liked to have had a couple of stops in there and a couple of rebounds so it wasn’t that hard to do but we made enough free throws to keep them off of us.”
Casteen spearheaded that effort, going 8-for-10 from the charity stripe during the final frame as part of a 15-point night that included a 12-for-15 effort at the line.
Western’s Chris McGahren had a solid night with 10 points, including a 3-pointer at the buzzer in the first half. Michael Vale was also solid with eight points, the bulk of which came in the paint.
Jake Mooney and Vinny Agee each had 11 points for the Flucos, with Agee also hauling in nine rebounds. Talavious Hughes led Fluvanna with 14 points on the night.
Western and Fluvanna gave fans a look at both the present and future of the Jefferson District Friday night as two teams with rosters dominated by sophomores and juniors (just five total seniors between the two squads) faced off in the Warriors’ win.
Western will face Powhatan on the road Tuesday while Fluvanna hosts Charlottesville.
