Polk County’s late comeback, unfortunately, couldn’t match the earlier one that Patton staged.
The Panthers overcame a six-point halftime deficit, then held off a Wolverine charge in the final minutes to take a 68-63 victory Tuesday in the Mountain Foothills 7 Conference opener for both schools at Polk.
Patton (2-7, 1-0) grabbed a 10-point lead with just more than three minutes remaining, but Polk County (1-6, 0-1) nearly erased all of that before the final buzzer.
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Gunnar Alm’s two free throws with 3:07 left began the charge. Aaron Jackson followed with a fast-break dunk, and Khristian Littlejohn hit two free throws at the 1:04 mark to slice the deficit to four.
Jackson’s short shot seconds later spun in and out of the basket, and Patton’s Nathan Waters hit two free throws with 35 seconds left to make it 66-60. Alm cut the margin to four with a layup with 28 seconds to go, and Littlejohn hit the first of two foul sots with 15 seconds left to make it 66-63.
Littlejohn’s second foul shot missed, but Polk controlled the rebound and got the ball to Alm, whose 3-point attempt to tie the game bounced awry. Patton’s Lando Norman then hit two free throws with 4.9 seconds left to ice the win.
Polk held a 42-37 lead midway through the third quarter before Patton put together a 17-5 rally to close the quarter. The Wolverines had several good looks at the basket that refused to fall, helping the Panthers in their comeback.
The Wolverines also struggled at the foul line, going 12-for-26 in the game.
Jackson finished with 19 points to lead Polk County, with Littlejohn scoring 17 and Alm adding 13. Dallas Littlejohn had nine points, wth Ja Gary scoring three and David Duffy finishing with two.
Polk County remains at home on Wednesday, hosting Avery for a non-conference tilt.
