Fashion a fourth-quarter rally to take a victory in your rival’s gym. Polk County endured that scenario Friday night, then returned the favor on Tuesday.
Down by five midway through the final period, the Wolverines used key outside shooting and a solid performance at the foul line to storm back for an 86-81 win over Landrum in non-conference action on the Cardinals’ home court.
Polk County (3-2) led by as many as seven points early in the third period before Landrum (2-1), who rallied from a 21-point deficit on Friday to win at Polk, poured in five 3-pointers in the quarter to build a 57-52 lead at quarter’s end. Polk fought back within one on a basket by Jaron Bontrager and an Anthony Carson 3-pointer, then tied the game at 64 on Jamal Tanner’s 3-pointer before Landrum stretched the lead back to 69-64.
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But a Bontrager basket started a 12-0 Polk run that turned the game in the Wolverines’ favor. Tanner hit a 3-pointer with 2:14 left to give Polk a 72-69 lead that they would never relinquish. Free throw shooting played a huge role in that, as Polk hit 14-of-16 foul shots in the fourth quarter. The Wolverines were 17-of-22 at the foul line for the game.
“We had an unbelievable fourth quarter (at the foul line),” said Polk County head coach Josh McEntire. “”The effort tonight was a lot better than it was last week. We really turned things up on defense late. We made some adjustments, we started switching every time. That gt us out on their shooters and helped us stop their pick and roll. Defense led to offense and we made some big shots.”
Tanner scored 32 points to lead Polk County, who also got 13 points from Bontrager, 12 from Carson and 10 from Wes Mullis.
Polk scored the game’s first nine points, allowed Landrum to close within one at the end of the first period, then exploded for a 15-2 run before settling for a 36-31 halftime lead.
“We learned our lessons from Friday and we had a good practice yesterday,” McEntire said. “Our ultimate goal is to get better and better before the conference starts (at Madison on Friday).”
Polk County returns home Wednesday night, hosting East Henderson in a final non-conference tuneup before traveling to Madison on Friday for its Western Highlands Conference opener.
Polk County Scoring
Jamal Tanner 32, Jaron Bontrager 13, Anthony Carson 12, Wes Mullis 10, Wes Brady 5, Saquan Miller 5, Jordan Smith 4, Will Ballard 4, Jason Chupp 1
