STANARDSVILLE — Things were going so well for William Monroe’s basketball team Friday night, even the fans were knocking down impossible shots.
Two fans hit halfcourt shots for $100 prizes during the intermission, a continuation of the Greene Dragons’ early onslaught in a 69-45 Jefferson District quarterfinal victory over Fluvanna County.
It wasn’t the offense though that got things started — Monroe got things done on the defensive end early while jumping out to a 9-0 lead. A.J. Mills set the tone for the Dragons (17-6) in a rare start for the senior, forcing a five-second violation against a Flying Flucos guard midway through the first.
“I just do my job — I’m out there to play defense and hustle,” Mills said. “So I just go out there and do my job and do whatever I can.”
Mills also hauled down five rebounds in the victory — most of them came during his early tear as he keyed several Monroe fast breaks that helped build the Dragons’ lead.
“We really preached to come out hard,” said Monroe coach Mike Maynard. “[Mills] is our best on-the-ball defender. Sometimes we like to bring him off the bench for a spark, but tonight we decided to start him and he did a very good job for us.”
By the end of the first quarter, Monroe was in control with a 19-5 lead, and the Dragons never looked back. Fluvanna couldn’t find a scorer outside of Terrell Scott, who had 16 points, which coach Munro Rateau explained was the Flucos’ biggest problem all season.
“It was the same thing all year long — we just never got the ball in the basket,” Rateau said. “We struggled scoring all year but we gave great effort every day. We just never got the ball in the basket.”
The Dragons got solid play from their usual trio of senior standouts. Andy Brown dished out seven
assists, setting the table all night for Monroe. Mike Roach led the Dragons with 14 points including a pair of 3-pointers.
Mike Wims posted a double-double with 10 points and 11 rebounds, but he really stood out defensively, blocking six shots and altering nearly as many. Maynard allowed Wims to hang back near the basket in the Dragons’ man-to-man defense, which allowed him to come up with the rejections.
“Tonight he was able to do that,” Maynard said. “That’s a great place for him because he has great timing. And when he does block a shot, it stays on the court.”
The Dragons finished with 11 blocks as a team to go with 10 total steals.
Monroe’s Kris Thomas came off the bench and buried three 3-pointers en route to an 11-point outing, and Desmon Shaver finished with nine points and seven rebounds.
The Dragons will take on Western Albemarle in what will serve as the rubber match between the two schools who split their regular season head-to-head matchups. Monroe won the latest installment on Jan. 27, 56-50.
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