Every time they needed one on Tuesday, Polk County seemed to come up with a big defensive stop.
The last one was a whopper.
Leading by seven with 40 seconds left, Khristian Littlejohn turned a steal into a dunk and closed the door on Brevard, pushing the lead to nine points as the Wolverines took a 56-45 win over the Blue Devils.
Get PolkSports delivered to your inbox
Sign up for our free newsletter →
It was Littlejohn’s third dunk of the game and second off a steal in the quarter as Polk County used a tenacious, trapping defense in big spots to lead wire-to-wire.
“We have a lot of guys who don’t have a lot of basketball experience right now, and we’re still going through a lot of growing pains,” Polk County coach Josh Money said. “Off the top of my head, we had about 14 shots we should’ve made, and that would have changed this game big time. But they stepped up and made plays.
“We started hitting free throws at the end. We got those steals. They’ve got a good team, and it’s good to have these close games early so we’ll be used to it when we get to conference games.”
The Wolverines’ defense wasn’t just opportunistic, it was suffocating at times. As both teams struggled to find their footing early, Polk (2-4) eased ahead 10-3 after a quarter thanks to that stifling defense. The Blue Devils were able to put some good things together on offense, but got just 10 points in the third quarter and couldn’t put much of a dent in the lead down the stretch.
The visitors’ best chance to turn the tide was in the third, as they pulled to within 29-27 on a bucket with just under five minutes to play in the frame. Polk County stepped on the gas, scoring 13 of the games next 15 points to take a 13 point lead headed into the fourth.
Ross Dow hit a huge 3-pointer during the run, Khalil Austin and Aaron Jackson both scored, and Brady Carroll made a big difference, hitting two free throws and an old-fashioned three-point play to help Polk County stretch it out.
Carroll was more than solid in his role off the bench, grabbing several key rebounds and bringing defensive intensity when he was in the game.
“He’s a junior, but I don’t know that he’s played a lot of organized basketball,” Money said. “He made a big difference as soon as he came in the ball game. He grabbed some big-time rebounds, and there at the end we really needed him in there on defense.”
Littlejohn had 15 points to lead the Wolverines, while Jackson had 10, Austin added nine and Carroll scored eight. Money said that type of balance is what the Wolverines are seeking.
“We’ve got 14 great guys who are just willing to step in and be that role player,” Money said. “They just do what they’re supposed to do.”
