Fishburne eases past Virginia Western, 94-62

The Fishburne Military School postgrad basketball team hadn’t played in a week. “Guys were getting tired of beating up on each other in practice,” said assistant coach Aaron Drakeford after the Caissons’ 94-62 win over Virginia Western on Sunday in Waynesboro, Va.

Looming ahead is a biggie: a rematch on Tuesday with Fork Union, which upset the fourth-ranked Caissons 69-66 on Jan. 24 in the Virginia Military Challenge at Hargrave.

“We feel like that game got away from us. We feel like we’re better prepared for what they do now,” said Garrett Collins (6’5”, 190, Asheville, N.C.), who had seven points in the win over Virginia Western on Sunday. “They play a different style. We feel like we’re better prepared for how they play. We’re just going to go out there and play hard.”

FMS (20-5) led Virginia Western 44-21 at the half, and with the big lead coach Ed Huckaby was able to get his reserves some important in-game action with a stretch of games upcoming that also includes games this weekend with Shooting4Greatness Academy and Mt. Zion Prep and next week against New River Community College and another contest with Fork Union.

Shamiek Sheppard (6’6’, 220, Brooklyn), who has attracted late recruiting interest from South Carolina, led Fishburne with 13 points. James Rucker (6’4”, 185, Knightdale, N.C.) and Chris Wray (6’8”, 175, Shelby, N.C./Mt. St. Mary’s) each had 11.