HOPEWELL – After a rocky start to the new calendar year that included its first loss of the season, the Fuqua School boys basketball team got a much-needed boost of confidence with a non-conference 95-30 victory over West End Christian School.

The margin of victory aside, FS head coach John Baldwin was pleased with his team's performance.

“It was a game we needed after our loss at Tidewater,” said Baldwin, who cautiously agreed with a point that the score could've been similar had the Falcons not been playing that well. “We needed to come out and play with intensity and aggressiveness, and that's what we were able to do.”

After a short period of adjustment, the Falcons grew accustomed to the unique dimensions of the West End court, and built a large lead.

Senior center LeVon Harper and junior forward Charles Williams combined to score 14 of Fuqua's first 17 points. A short-range jumper by Williams gave the Falcons a 17-2 lead with three minutes remaining in the period. Fuqua nearly doubled that lead over the final three minutes of the quarter, and led 30-5 heading into the second quarter.

The large lead gave Baldwin the opportunity to experiment with different line-up combinations. Fuqua's offense slowed in the first few minutes of the second quarter, but the Falcons extended a 36-11 lead halfway through the second period with a 15-3 run over the balance of the quarter to take a 51-14 lead into the break.

Fuqua continued to practice restraint in the third and fourth quarters against their overmatched opponents, as Baldwin continued to substitute his ten-player rotation at will. A 76-20 lead at the end of the third quarter slowly crept to the final score.

Carter Cunningham led the Falcons with 39 points on the night, while Harper posted a quadruple-double with 24 points, 13 rebounds, 11 steals and ten assists in about two-and-a-half quarters of action.

Williams added 20 points, while Larry Haskins scored 12. Price Gantt had five assists and four steals on the night.

“I think that loss at Tidewater refocused us,” said Baldwin, noting that the Falcons were rusty following a nearly three-week break that was compounded by a rescheduling conflict. “We didn't want to come in here with the wrong attitude. That we didn't says a lot about the character of this team.”

Baldwin stated that he was pleased with the play of the Fuqua reserves, noting that the intensity level didn't drop off at any point in the game.

“I was really impressed with the play of Zach Davis on defense. We have guys who can score. We need good defenders, and he played as well as he has all season, either in practice or in a game. It's good to see how our reserves react in game situations, and I see some situations where he can step in and contribute.”

Monday's game was supposed to be the start to a busy, but pivotal week for the Fuqua basketball team.

However, the ice that moved through the area postponed a game at Richmond Christian that was originally scheduled for Tuesday night.

On Thursday, the Falcons were scheduled to travel to Blessed Sacrament-Huguenot, before returning home to host Amelia Academy on Friday night.

“It's a key week for us,” said Baldwin. “Blessed Sacrament and Amelia Academy are playing some good ball right now, and we'll need to come out and play with the same intensity as we did tonight.”