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Polk County looked early Thursday as if it might be poised to upend R-S Central.

A scoring drought of more than nine minutes, though, spoiled those hopes and helped the Hilltoppers pull away in the second half for a 50-31 victory in a Mountain Foothills 7 Conference matchup at Polk.

The Wolverines dropped to 5-14 with the loss, including a 1-8 mark in conference play. The Hilltoppers improved to 13-8 overall and remained in second place in the conference with a 7-2 mark.

How it happened: A pair of Damon Williams 3-pointers in the first quarter helped Polk County match points early with R-S Central.

The Wolverines were tied 18-18 with 3:12 to go and still trailed just 22-20 when Aaron Jackson hit a floating 17-foot jumper with 1:47 left in the half.

R-S Central would push the advantage to 27-20 at the break, then score the first nine points of the third period to eventually take a 36-20 lead. Polk County’s next points didn’t come until 42 seconds remained in the period on a pair of Kris Littlejohn free throws.

That stretch ultimately proved deciding. Polk County then pull within 11 early in the fourth period, but R-S Central standout Mikey Wilkins finished with 30 points and kept the Hilltoppers safely ahead down the stretch.

Littlejohn finished with 10 points to lead Polk, with Jackson and Williams each scoring six.

Wayne Carson had five points, with Vincent Twitty adding three and Landen Bradley scoring one.

Polk County will host Chase on Feb. 3 in its final home game of the regular season.