For nearly three quarters Wednesday night, Polk County looked nothing like a one-win team. Unfortunately for the Wolverines, A.C. Reynolds looked nothing like a 6-6 squad for the final stanza.
The Rockets closed their non-conference trip to Polk County with a flourish, scoring 42 of the game’s final 54 points to pull away for an 84-57 victory over the Wolverines.
It’s an overused sports cliche, but this game fell into that closer-than-the-score-indicated category. Polk County (1-11) played at perhaps its best level of the season for nearly three-fourths of the game, moving the ball efficiently on offense, playing aggressive defense and matching the taller, more athletic Rockets on the boards. Especially notable was its offensive patience, the team often working the ball around the perimeter before finding players inside for baskets.
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Late in the third quarter, though, two disturbing things occurred for Polk County. The Rockets, trailing 45-42, closed the quarter with a 10-0 run and junior guard Jamal Wheeler suffered a leg injury. Wheeler, troubling the Rockets on both ends of the court to that point, briefly came back into the game in the fourth quarter, but soon departed and spent the rest of the game on the bench. Polk County head coach Josh McEntire said he didn’t believe the injury was serious and sat Wheeler, given the non-conference nature of the game, as a precaution.
“Once Jamal went down, it changed the complexion of the whole game,” McEntire said. “He controls the ball offensively. Defensively, he controls the defense because he stops the ball. He’s such a presence on the court.”
Reynolds scored the first six points of the fourth quarter before Jaylin Wilkins’ basket at the 6:52 mark stopped a 16-0 spurt that gave the Rockets a 58-45 lead. Reynolds then began attacking the boards and attacking the rim, notching a handful of dunks – and missed dunks – in the final six minutes. Reynolds outscored Polk County 32-12 in the fourth period and scored half of their points for the night after trailing 45-42 late in the third.
“For three quarters, we played basketball like I know we can play basketball,” McEntire said. “We competed, we flew around, we were neck-and-neck with a very athletic Reynolds team.
“Dillion Overholt, our backup point guard, has had about five practices. He’s doing a heckuva job and is working his butt off. You saw flashes tonight of how good he is going to be.”
Leading 17-15 at the end of the first period, Polk County put together a 10-4 run to open the second. Wheeler scored twice and Arnie Twitty, Jason Chupp and Wes Mullis all scored in the paint as the Wolverines built a 27-19 edge, forcing Reynolds to call a timeout. The Rockets slowly crept back into the game and evened the score before a pair of Overholt free throws gave Polk County a 34-32 halftime lead.
Wheeler had 13 points and Chupp had 12 to lead Polk County. Rico Dowdle scored 24 points to lead Reynolds.
Polk County Scoring
Jamal Wheeler 13, Jason Chupp 12, Wes Mullis 8, Dillion Overholt 7, Jaylin Wilkins 6, Arnie Twitty 6, DJ Twitty 3, Holden Owens 2
