Avery wasted no time Tuesday showing why the Vikings are considered one of the state’s top 1A teams this season.
The Vikings scored the game’s first eight points, built a 13-point lead at the end of the first period and turned aside one late Polk County rally en route to a 77-41 win over the Wolverines in Western Highlands Conference play at Polk.
The state’s top 1A team in the MaxPreps computer rankings and ranked fifth in the NCPreps.com state poll. Avery (11-2, 3-0) rolled to a 32-13 lead at halftime, relying on patience and passing in its trademark half-court offense to produce numerous layups and short jumpers.
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Polk County (3-9, 1-3) hoped to disrupt Avery with full-court pressure and a quicker tempo, and while the Wolverines had some success with that approach, early misfires on the offensive end prevented it from being an unqualified success.
“We missed nine layups in the first half,” said Polk County head coach Josh McEntire. “They want to be patient, they want to play a slowdown game and be efficient. We tried to speed things up a little bit and make them play faster than they’re used to doing. We hoped to force them into taking some tough shots.”
Polk finally found some offensive rhythm early in the third period, as 3-pointers from Jamal Wheeler, Daniel Painter and Dillion Overholt helped pull the Wolverines within 12 points at 37-25. But the Vikings responded with six quick points and built a 60-33 lead by quarter’s end.
“We cut it to 12, and we just quit doing everything that got us to that point,” McEntire said. “We quit moving our feet on defense and we quit sharing the ball on offense.
“Once they made that last run, that was it. We didn’t have any fight left in us.”
Jamal Wheeler scored 11 points to lead Polk County, which travels to Reynolds on Wednesday for a non-conference battle. The rest of the Wolverines’ scoring: Jaymes Wingo 8, Daniel Painter 5, Dillion Overholt 5, Davis Derkach 4, Rustin Muse 3, Wes Mullis 2, Malik Miller 2, Josh Chupp 1
Luke Crowe scored 18 points and Jeffery Puckett added 15 for Avery.
