Forgot feeling like a late Christmas gift. Polk County’s 71-60 victory Thursday over R-S Central evoked the sense of another beloved holiday.
Break out the Easter decorations – the Wolverines brought plenty of bunnies.
That’s head coach Josh Money’s term for layups, the point-blank shots that often are not the easiest of makes. Polk County hit plenty of them Thursday while pulling away in the fourth quarter to snap a six-game losing streak.
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After seeing a potential win slip away Tuesday at Madison, the non-conference victory felt doubly rewarding, especially given Polk’s 26-of-40 shooting from 2-point range. The Wolverines’ senior duo of Aaron Jackson (33 points) and Khristian Littlejohn (12 points) finished 19-of-25 from the field, and Jackson’s 14-of-16 performance set a school record for best 2-point percentage in a game at 88 percent.
“We started finishing possessions on offense,” Money said. “We’ve been averaging probably 14, 15 missed bunnies, shots we should make. Tonight we had a lot less.
“Aaron and Khristian are just so explosive on offense. They’re hard to guard, and they really showed that tonight.”
Polk County (3-10) held the lead most of the evening, though R-S Central (2-10) kept within striking distance, its guard play keeping the Hilltoppers in contention. R-S trailed just 49-45 early in the fourth, but Jackson drove the lane for a basket, then hit a short jumper while being fouled and canned the free throw to make it 54-45. Another Jackson foul shot pushed the lead to 10 with 5:32 remaining.
The Hilltoppers made one final push, trimming the deficit to six with 3:31 to go. But Jackson broke free for a dunk, Nate Fagan scored in transition off a great pass from Littlejohn and Chase Stansbury, who had 12 points, hit a layup with 1:16 left to make it 65-53 and effectively seal the outcome.
Jackson had 13 rebounds, Littlejohn had 10 and Stansbury had five as Polk often held R-S Central to one-shot possessions on the defensive end. Jackson and Littlejohn also harassed the Hilltopper guards, playing up front in Polk County’s full-court press as part of a recent defensive change.
“We played it the other night and it was really successful against Madison,” Money said. “I think we had seven or eight turnovers in the first minute and a half, two minutes. Their length and their quickness really cause a lot of long cross-court passes that we’re able to pick off. That’s why we went with them up front, just trying to let everyone else play free safety and put pressure on them.”
Polk County will return to Western Highlands Conference play on Tuesday, traveling to Avery.
