Teams that shoot the 3-pointer well and also play solid pressure defense are the stuff of nightmares for most basketball coaches.
That certainly proved the case Thursday for Polk County Middle.
Brevard Middle did both of those things well, allowing the Blue Devils to pull away and hand the Wolverines a 59-46 setback in a Blue Ridge Conference tussle at Polk Middle.
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The Wolverines (2-3) did keep pace with Brevard (5-0) for a quarter. The Blue Devils surged to a 13-7 advantage late in the period, but back-to-back fast-break layups from Hollis Williams and RJ Simpson cut the deficit to 13-11 entering the second period.
Brevard’s full-court defensive pressure, though, began to create Polk turnovers, and the Blue Devils steadily captialized on those. Tyler Rundell, who hit six 3-pointers in the game, had two of those in the second quarter and Nolan Elmore scored 11 points in the period as Brevard opened a 35-16 bulge at the half.
The advantage surpassed 20 points early in the third period before Polk Middle began to slice into that margin. Williams and Brennan Oates led a rally that pulled the Wolverines within 13, 42-29, with 1:20 left in the quarter.
But Rundell nailed a 3-pointer just before the end of the period to boost the lead back to 18 at 47-29, and Polk Middle got no closer than the final gap the rest of the evening.
Brevard finished with eight 3-pointers as a team, with Rundell scoring 27 points to lead the Blue Devils.
Williams finished with 17 points and Simpson and Oates each had 12 to lead Polk Middle. Carter Wood added three points.
Polk Middle will travel Monday to face Flat Rock to kick off the final week of play before the Christmas break.
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