Polk County again stumbled on its Achilles’ heel.
Points proved at a premium during two stretches of Friday’s non-conference clash with Bessemer City, and those spells helped the Yellow Jackets pull away for an 88-73 victory.
There were bright spots for the Wolverines (2-9), including the 1,000th point of senior Aaron Jackson’s career. Jackson finished with a career-high 37 points, his hustle on both ends of the floor providing a spark for the Wolverines throughout the evening.
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And Polk again displayed the resiliency that has become a trademark of this team, battling back each team from its offensive droughts. That including piling up 30 points in the final quarter, at one point cutting a deficit that reached 25 points late in the third quarter to just 11 late in the fourth.
That type of offensive production would have served the Wolverines well early in both the second and third quarters.
Jackson had 13 first-quarter points as Polk headed into the second period down just 21-19. Bessemer City (5-6) opened the second period with a 12-0 run and pushed its lead to 36-20 as the Wolverines could only manage a Jackson free throw in the first four minutes, a handful of shot attempts spinning around the rim before falling away.
But Ross Dow’s 3-pointer sparked a late Polk run which closed with a flourish – a Nate Fagan 3-pointer, Jackson three-point play, Jackson steal and emphatic two-hand dunk just before the halftime buzzer to cut the Bessemer lead to 38-33 at the break.
The opening four minutes of the third quarter, though, again saw Polk struggle to get the ball in the basket. The Yellow Jackets opened the stanza with a 14-3 streak and built their bulge to 66-41 late in the quarter.
Polk, again, steadily chipped away at the margin, with Khalil Austin and Jackson each scoring seven in the final quarter and Chase Stansbury adding six. Two Austin free throws with 2:37 remaining made it a 75-64 deficit, but the Yellow Jackets put together a quick 6-2 burst and kept the lead at 12 or more the rest of the way.
Austin finished with nine points and Khristian Littlejohn and Stansbury each added eight for Polk County. Fagan finished with five, with Dow and Nolan Simpson each scoring three.
Johnathan Black had 20 points and Jevon Miller and Isaiah McCallister each added 18 for Bessemer City.
Polk County returns to its Western Highlands Conference schedule on Tuesday, traveling to Madison.
