They have the athletic talent and play with high intensity, but Polk County High School’s men’s basketball team hasn’t quite put it all together yet, with three losses in the past week, including Thursday night’s 63-59 outing against Mountain Heritage in Columbus.
Against the Cougars, 4-5 Wolverines scored first on Wes Mullis’ field goal, but were behind quickly, 8-2, and were down 19-8, when Anthony Carson tossed in a three-point goal as the buzzer ended the first quarter, making it 19-11.
In the second quarter, Sequan Miller’s three-pointer closed the Cougars’ lead to 28-23, where the score stood at the half.
However, lukewarm shooting and rebounding by Polk helped Mountain Heritage increase its lead to 46-32 after three periods. The Cougars forced Polk turnovers and outshot the hosts.
In the final quarter, Wes Brady’s three-point shot, and a layup by Jamal Tanner helped close the visitors’ lead to 55-51, but the Cougars would let Polk get no closer. Jaron Bontrager’s three-point goal cut the Cougars’ lead to 63-59, but that was all Polk could muster at the hoop, and Mountain Heritage sank three late fouls shots to escape with the win.
“It’s been a tough week,” said Polk coach Josh McEntire. “We’re still not doing all the things we need to do to beat a well-coached team, like them (the Cougars) . . . We played half a basketball game, and still had a chance to win. When we do that for four quarters [the Wolverines will tack on the wins.]”
Among the things that McEntire would like to see his players do are working more effectively on screens and boxing out opposing players to get more defensive rebounds.
Mullis (14 points), Bontrager (12), Miller, (11) and Brady paced the Wolverines.
On Tuesday, Dec. 17, Polk lost by 77-59 at North Buncombe.
The Wolverines next game is Jan. 3 at Mitchell.