Beat a rival at home on Senior Night to likely secure a playoff berth – a perfect ending to a less-than-perfect season awaits Polk County’s boys basketball team.
How well the Wolverines stage that scene could mean the difference in a trip to the state 2A playoffs or another postseason on the sidelines. Such are the stakes Tuesday night as Hendersonville comes to Polk County for the Wolverines’ regular-season home finale. Tipoff will be around 8 p.m. following junior varsity play starting at 4 p.m. and varsity girls around 6:30 p.m.
The top two 2A teams in the Western Highlands Conference earn automatic berths to the state playoffs, pending the outcome of the WHC’s postseason tourney, as any team other than regular-season champion Avery that wins the tourney could knock out an automatic qualifier. A four-game winning streak earlier this season put Polk County in prime position to be one of those teams, but an ongoing five-game losing run has turned Tuesday’s game into a must-win.
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There still may exist a scenario where Polk County (5-17, 5-6) could lose and remain in position to be one of the two qualifiers – various tiebreakers would come into play, depending on who else is in the tie – but head coach Josh McEntire would rather see his team win and not worry about those.
“Clinching a playoff berth and ending the season on a positive note would be huge for such a young basketball team,” McEntire said. “It would give us much-needed experience for the the future and also help us erase some of the painful memories from early in the season.”
Finding consistent offense has been the team’s primary issue of late, the Wolverines having been held to 35 points or less in their past three games.
“Right now our biggest problem during this five-game losing streak has been our offense,” McEntire said. “We just aren’t making shots.
“When you score it gives you energy and momentum. Defensively we have still been solid and played well enough to win.”
How well the Wolverines play defense Tuesday night could be key as Hendersonville (12-10, 4-7) comes to town with an offense capable of racking up points. Senior Bradley Schmidt leads the team with 15.1 points per game, followed by junior Michael Schmidt (13.6 ppg) and freshman Tykel Landrum (9.1 ppg).
Polk County defeated Hendersonville 91-78 in the teams’ first meeting, a game in which Wolverine junior Jamal Wheeler set a school record with 40 points. McEntire wouldn’t be surprised to see another high-scoring affair in Columbus.
“I expect another up and down game versus Hendersonville,” he said. “That is the way both teams like to play.
“The biggest key will be protecting the ball against their press. If we take care of the basketball, we will have a chance to shoot layups and if we don’t take care of the basketball, they will have a chance to shoot layups.”
An interesting side note: McEntire will be going for his 50th career win in the game. That would tie him with Scott Sekal for second on the school’s all-time wins list. Longtime coach Derek Thomas leads that list with 164 wins at the school.
