Polk boys earn 5-AA final spot

Friday, January 1, 1904

BENTON, Tenn. -- Logan Brewer did more than enough to carry his team offensively in the first half of Polk County's District 5-AA basketball semifinal against McMinn Central on Friday. His teammates did the heavy lifting at the end with the game on the line.

Andrea Ragona had the go-ahead basket with 2:29 remaining, and the Wildcats battled their way into the district championship game with 51-41 victory at McMinn County High. Polk (13-15), which finished the game on an 11-0 run, will face Sequoyah -- an 82-65 winner over Meigs County -- in Tuesday's championship game at 7:30 p.m.

The girls' final Monday at 7:30 will pit Sequoyah, which defeated Meigs 48-43 in overtime, and top-seeded McMinn Central, which beat Polk 55-39. The Meigs and Polk girls will play before that for third place.

The Wildcats led 26-17 at halftime, but the Chargers took the lead on a jump shot by Josh Scudder with 5:31 remaining. Polk regained the lead on a 3-pointer by Evan Ball on the next possession, and after three Scudder free throws, the Wildcats took over.

"We started to get some stops on the defensive end, and offensively we had some guys step up and get to the rim," Wildcats coach Rusty Brewer said. "We were good enough to get the lead early on, but they were good enough to come back. The guys were composed and did a good job of finishing the game."

Logan Brewer had 19 of Polk's 26 first-half points, going over the 1,000-point mark on a 3-pointer with 5:04 to go in the first half. He finished with 26 points and eight rebounds, making his first 10 shots before missing a jumper with 1:17 to go in the third quarter.

Ball finished with 12 points for Polk, and Alex Akins had nine assists. Tim Webb led the Chargers with 12 points.

McMinn Central's girls were never threatened, building a double-digit halftime lead that grew to 22 by the end of the third quarter. Elizabeth Masengil led the Chargerettes with 25 points, but 11 players were shuffled in and out of the lineup in rotation.

"I do know we'll play hard; I have no doubt in our effort," McMinn Central coach Johnny Morgan said. "We have enough players that if one isn't playing well, we have the luxury of putting somebody else in. You have to sacrifice possibly losing a game during the season so that once you get to tournament time, you have that confidence.

"Now when those younger girls get in the game, they're ready to play."