Just three days after suffering a 31-point loss to Brevard, sixth-seeded Polk County stunned the third-seeded Blue Devils 54-44 Monday in the Mountain Foothills 7 Basketball Tournament quarterfinals.
The visiting Wolverines (5-17) showed no lingering effects from Friday’s 73-42 defeat, though they trailed 9-6 early in the second quarter when Brevard’s leading scorer, Eli Griffin, suffered an injury during a fast break and did not return. After the Blue Devils (11-12) extended their lead to 10-6, Polk County seized control with a 14-0 run to close the half, taking a 20-10 advantage into the break.
Polk County maintained its momentum through the third quarter, carrying a 35-27 lead into the final period. When Brevard threatened early in the fourth, closing within 35-31, the Wolverines responded decisively. Khristian Littlejohn’s layup sparked a 7-0 burst, capped by Luke Garrison’s 3-pointer and Aaron Jackson’s free throws, pushing the lead to 42-31 with 4:53 remaining.
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The Blue Devils made two late pushes, cutting the deficit to 46-40 and later 50-44, but Littlejohn and Jackson sealed the victory with consecutive dunks.
Jackson led all scorers with 17 points for Polk County. Littlejohn added 10 points, while Garrison contributed eight. Jayce Edwards scored seven, Khalil Austin added six, David Duffy contributed four and Chase Stansbury finished with two points.
The Wolverines advance to face second-seeded R-S Central in Tuesday’s semifinals. The game will be played at Polk County High School at 5:30 p.m.
