Wolverines bounce back, battle Brevard Middle in narrow 38-30 defeat

The final score Thursday may have leaned in Brevard Middle School’s favor, but that didn’t diminish the satisfaction that Polk Middle head coach John Rochford felt with the result.

Bouncing back from a rough loss Monday in Waynesville, Polk Middle battled a taller Brevard squad until the final whistle, ultimately falling 38-30 to the Blue Devils in Blue Ridge Middle School Conference action at Polk Middle.

The Wolverines (2-6) faced a distinct height disadvantage against the Blue Devils, with Brevard boasting at least four players taller than anyone wearing a Polk Middle uniform. And the Blue Devils took advantage of that height, constantly looking to pass the ball into the low post area or often scoring on offensive putbacks. Brevard’s man-to-man defense also presented problems early for Polk, the Blue Devils able to use their height to clog the passing lanes in the paint.

But down 12 midway through the second period, Polk Middle kept running its offense and kept battling on the boards, the effort allowing the Wolverines to close to within six, 20-14, at halftime. Brevard pulled away again in the third period and built an 11-point lead early in the fourth before the Wolverines again clawed back, cutting the margin to seven at one point in the final minutes.

“We had a tough one earlier this week against Waynesville,” Rochford said. “But we showed a lot of character in bouncing back from a tough loss and playing well. If a couple of breaks go our way or a couple of second chance opportunities fall, we have a chance to win the game.

“It was a good effort. I wish we would have won the game, but I’m proud of them. We can keep building off that.”

Clark Phipps scored 14 points to lead Polk Middle, including five in the final 2:40 of the second quarter as Polk County fought back from an 18-7 deficit. Amir Gary added seven points, with Avery Edwards scoring four, Elijah Sutton adding three and Jack Derkach scoring two.

“Elijah Sutton played hard and made a lot of big plays,” Rochford said. “Luke Sellars also worked hard and played solid defense.

“I was really impressed with Clark Phipps. He showed a lot of leadership and ran our offense well and got other players involved.”

Polk County Middle returns to action on Monday, traveling to Rugby.