Polk County boys’ basketball season ended on Monday night. In the first round of the state playoffs, the Wolverines lost at home to Central Wilkes 61-45.
The Wolverines kept the game close, but the Eagles did just enough to stay ahead. Down 30-22 at the half, the Wolverines hit three 3-pointers in the third quarter, but could only close the gap to 7. Andre Overholt hit two 3s and Stephen Staley hit the other.

The closest the Wolverines got to the Eagles down the stretch was 4 points. Overholt went 1-2 from the line with 1:39 left in the game to pull the Wolverines to a 53-49 deficit. Shawn Gary scored five points in the last minute, but it wasn’t enough for Polk.
Overholt led the Wolverines with 17 points. Gary added 12.
“The one thing these kids kept doing (tonight) was fighting,” head coach Josh McEntire said.
That was a toughness that the Wolverines developed all season, he said.
“No matter what happened they kept fighting and working hard and that’s all I can ask of them,” the first-year coach said.
After a rough patch in the first half of the season, the team really bought into what McEntire was teaching, he said. They developed toughness on defense needed if they were going to be in their ballgames.
Next year, the Wolverines will be replacing all five starters and McEntires message in the locker room wsa simple.
“I told our juniors, ‘next year starts right now,’ he said.