A nightmare third quarter dashed Polk County Middle’s upset dreams Thursday but didn’t take away from the effort the Wolverines delivered the other three.
Polk Middle held its own in the first half against East Division co-leader Hendersonville Middle. But the taller Bearcats relied on their height and full-court pressure to pull away for a 44-30 win in the Wolverines’ final regular-season home game of the year.
Polk Middle (1-9) held Hendersonville Middle (9-1) to just two second-quarter points and closed the period with a 7-0 run to force a 13-13 halftime tie. Coby Lee hit a 3-pointer and Qualon Sutton and Wesley Royster had baskets for the Wolverines in the rally.
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Tyler Staley drilled a 3-pointer early in the third period to give Polk Middle a 16-15 lead. But Hendersonville would respond with the next 12 points, Sutton finally stopping the run with a layup with 1:30 left in the period, and would take a 31-18 lead at the end of the third. The Bearcats’ full-court pressure keyed the run, setting up a handful of layups.
“We had a good first half,” said Polk Middle head coach John Rochford. “They are one of the best teams in our conference and their coach is outstanding. We couldn’t hang with the,. We stayed with them in the first half, but they KO’d us in the third quarter.
“I’m still seeing a lot of positive things, thing we’re doing better than we were earlier this season. That’s something we can build on. We’ve got a lot of seventh graders and they’re learning as they go.”
Sutton and Lee each scored six points for Polk Middle, which got five points from Shaq Wingo, four from Lukas Tipton, three from Staley and two from Ki-yon Staley, Shane Arrington and Royster.
