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Sime, Kessler help Western boys avenge loss to Fluvanna

Photo by Bart Isley

Western Albemarle’s Josh Sime has just not been able to stay in a big game this year, plagued by foul trouble in seemingly every critical matchup the Warriors have been involved in. 

 

Monday night he avoided any foul trouble and it made a big impact with 20 points and 12 rebounds as Western avenged an earlier season loss to Fluvanna County with an 80-63 victory over the Flucos. 

 

“We were having fun, we wanted to go out with a bang on senior night so we knew we had to take care of business,” Sime said. “We’re just hoping to take this run into the playoffs and make a big run.”

 

The win secures the No. 2 spot in the district tournament for the Warriors and they’ll host the Flucos again in a third matchup this year in the district semifinals Friday night.  

 

Western’s big men got going in a huge way against the undersized Flucos this time around. Sime had his huge night and Elliott Kessler had 18 points and six boards while also dishing out four assists. 

 

“I thought him and Elliott were huge inside, it was the difference of the game,” said Western coach Darren Maynard. “Josh did a nice job staying out of foul trouble this time.”

 

Wes Gobble finished with 17 points and knocked down three 3-pointers while Alex Keeton finished with five assists and just one turnover at point guard for Western.

 

It helped that defensively the Warriors, particularly in the first quarter, were completely locked in. Facing Bobby Gardner, arguably the district’s quickest player off the dribble, the Warriors adjusted to account for his speed while throwing a 1-3-1 in for stretches rather than Western’s usual zone. 

 

“We got really tight in his gap because he’s so aggressive with the ball and it gave some other people some good shots but we wanted to get a handle on controlling him,” Maynard said. “I thought we did a fantastic job and he’s a very talented kid.”

 

The defensive approach held Fluvanna to just five points in the first quarter and limited Gardner to just four first half points. He finished with 26 points while scoring 22 in the second half, but Western was, for the most part, in control after the break. 

 

Chazz Barksdale-White finished with 14 and kept the Flucos alive in the second quarter with 11 points in that frame including three 3-pointers. Lance Bruce also chipped in seven of his 10 points in the second quarter with the Western defense intent on making someone besides Gardner take shots in the first half. 

 

The Warriors and Flucos lock up again Friday night in the district semifinals while it appears Charlottesville will travel to Albemarle in the other Jefferson District semifinal. 

 

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