FARMVILLE – The Fuqua School boys basketball team couldn't overcome a cold-shooting night in a 50-31 loss to visiting Amelia Academy on Friday night at Gilmer Gymnasium.

For the second straight game, the Falcons were held to just four points in the first quarter, and trailed by about three possessions throughout the night, before picking up the pace in the fourth quarter to pull to within five points with about three-and-a-half minutes left to play.

Down 35-30, and with momentum building toward a close finish, Amelia Academy freshman Reid Jacoby buried a three-pointer from about two feet behind the line.

Fuqua (4-3, 2-3 VCC) was unable to recover from the long-distance conversion, and Amelia Academy went on to end the game on a 15-1 run.

“We're just cold right now,” said FS head coach John Baldwin. “We've had periods where we have shooters go cold for the last couple of years, but someone has always been there to pick up the slack. The difference right now is that everyone is cold.

“It's frustrating, but we've got to be sure we don't get down on ourselves. Slumps are a part of sports, and we're going to have to work through it.”

Amelia Academy (8-4, 3-1) held a 13-4 lead at the end of the first quarter, and the two teams traded buckets in the second quarter to battle to a 20-11 contest at halftime.

The two teams continued to struggle offensively in the third quarter, as AA could only manage to extend its lead on FS by four points to lead 27-14 at the end of the third period.

Fuqua began to pick things up in the fourth. Sophomore guard/forward Carter Cunningham scored five of his 12 points in the fourth quarter, while senior center LeVon Harper scored seven points to pull the Falcons to within five points, with a little over three minutes remaining.

However, Jacoby's shot changed everything on a dime. Fuqua's shooting woes from the first three quarters returned, while AA converted several easy transition buckets on the other end to take control of the defensive struggle.

“We started to build a little confidence in the fourth quarter, and had more than doubled our score at the end of the third quarter in about five minutes,” said Baldwin. “But things were still fragile, and when [Jacoby] hit that three-pointer, we came back down and heaved up a bad shot. Before we knew it, the game was out of reach.”

Amelia Academy was led in scoring by Jan Zornjan, who had 14 points on the night, while Austin Anderson and Milos Stosic scored 13 and 11 respectively. Jacoby scored ten, with six points coming in the fourth quarter.

Harper led FS with 14 points, while Cunningham had 12.

“Right now, we're facing a big-time character test,” said Baldwin. “We've got to do a better job at getting down inside and hitting the boards. If we can get some stick-backs, if our defense can spark a few transition buckets, we can regain our offensive confidence.”

Fuqua is entering a stretch of favorable games, should the Falcons regain some of their shooting prowess they had before the Christmas break.

The Falcons were scheduled to host Southampton Academy on Tuesday night, and will travel to Kenston Forest on Friday, before hosting James River Home School next Monday, and traveling to Brunswick Academy and Southampton next Tuesday and Wednesday.

“We'll have to play well to win those games, but they're winnable. We've got to keep our heads up, and stick together.”