Polk delivers Senior Night victory, topping Chase

Published 12:18 pm Monday, February 10, 2025

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With time winding down Friday, Josh Money flashed the signal to a referee that he hoped all night he’d get to make.

Some two minutes remained in Polk’s 65-51 victory over Chase, and Money had a substitution planned for just that time. The official blew his whistle, the buzzer sounded and the Wolverine bench rose to its feet to welcome the team’s lone senior, Jayce Edwards.

Edwards walked off Polk County’s court a winner in his final home game, the Wolverines snapping a five-game losing streak with the Mountain Foothills 7 Conference victory over the visiting Trojans.

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Edwards finished with nine points, six of those in a game-opening flurry that saw Polk County (4-15, 2-8) take command. The Wolverines raced to a 10-3 lead and built the margin to 24-8 with a minute left in the opening quarter, putting Chase (1-21, 0-10) in a hole from which it would never escape.

“I couldn’t ask for a better outcome for Jayce,” Money said. “I feel like that was one of his better games. He really showed out on the defensive side and was able to attack on offense. He really did a good job getting to the rim and being able to dish it off or finish.”

Aaron Jackson poured in 35 points and Khristian Littlejohn added 10, and those two also helped keep Chase center Landon Barnes in check. The 6-5 senior had 22 points, with Littlejohn especially effective in the first half on the defensive glass and Jackson doing similar rebounding work on the offensive end.

“We knew the key to the game was coming in and holding (Barnes), really fronting him and making them throw over the top,” Money said. “We did a good job with that. We had some breakdowns, but we did a good job overall with help side defense. I think our defense really won the game for us tonight.”

Jackson had 36 points in Polk’s win earlier this season over Chase and has now reached double figures in 11 consecutive games.

The Wolverines built the lead to as much as 20 points in the second quarter and took a 37-21 lead into the locker room. Chase trimmed the deficit to 13 points midway through the third period but went 0-for-6 at the foul line in a 78-second span, and Jackson hit a pair of free throws and a basket to push the advantage back to 17.

Chase again pulled within 13 in the fourth period, but Jackson sandwiched two baskets around a Khalil Austin free throw to make it 59-41 with 5:10 remaining and effectively end the Trojans’ hopes.

Dallas Littlejohn added eight points, with Chase Stansbury scoring two and Austin adding one.

Polk County begins the final week of regular-season play on Tuesday, traveling to East Rutherford.