Flat Rock kept Polk County Middle at bay in the fourth quarter Thursday, holding off a determined Wolverine squad to take a 46-39 victory in Blue Ridge Conference boys basketball action at Polk Middle.

The Eagles put together a run late in the third period to grab an 11-point lead, but Polk Middle (0-4) responded with seven straight points, three of those from Chandler Burnett, to slice the deficit to 33-29 with 4:20 left in the game.

Flat Rock worked the advantage back to double digits at 41-31 in the final two minutes, but Gunnar Alm’s 3-pointer and a Cole Pereira basket helped cut that deficit in half at 42-37 with 37 seconds left.

Polk Middle drew even closer, at 43-39, on two Antonio Simpson free throws with 26 seconds remaining. But Flat Rock hit 3-of-4 free throws in the final 25 seconds to seal the win.

“For the first time all season we put together a good half of a game,” said Polk Middle head coach Deshane Briscoe. “The kids played hard.”

Flat Rock used its mix of full-court and half-court pressure to cause some trouble for the Wolverines in the first half, holding Polk scoreless for the first five minutes of the second period in building a 16-7 lead.

But Lawson Carter scored four straight points to cut the deficit to five, and a Simpson basket just before the half kept the margin at five, 18-13, at the break.

Burnett finished with nine points to lead Polk Middle, with Carter and Simpson each scoring eight. Pereira finished with six points, with Mackus Simpson scoring five and Alm adding three..

– Submitted by PolkSports.com