A 29-point, fourth quarter surge by Clarkston’s varsity cagers, helped the Wolves improve their record to 11-2. Last Friday, Clarkston traveled to Southfield, topping the home team, 78-61.
‘Anytime you win on an away court, it’s a good win,? longtime Wolves coach Dan Fife said. ‘Southfield is a good ball team. We played very well. It was a good team win. We took care of the ball.?
Clarkston went into the second half trailing three points behind Southfield.
While Southfield thought Clarkston changed their game plan, the Wolves made no change.
‘We didn’t change anything, just stepped up,? said Fife. ‘We stepped up our defense.?
From the beginning of the third quarter, the Wolves were ready to finish the game with a win.
Brandon Pokley tied the score. Southfield took the ball and made a basket to keep Clarkston out of the lead.
The Wolves followed the action by adding 10 points to the scoreboard.
As the end of the quarter neared, Southfield built traps and Clarkston found ways to get around them.
Brandon Hughes caught a pass from one of his teammates and took the opportunity to end the quarter, 49-43.
In the fourth, Southfield attempted to close the distance, but Clarkston widened it more.
The Wolves scored 29 in the last eight minutes of play; Southfield scored 17 points.
‘I thought it was a good game,? said Southfield coach Gary Teasley. ‘They are a very well-coached team. They have balance scoring, and four guys in double figures. One of our goals was try to do well each quarter, I thought we had two good quarters. I don’t think we shot as well in the second half, as far as running what we needed to run. Some of the shots we took were in his favor and they got us on the boards, so I give these guys credit. They’ve got a good program.?
High scorers for Clarkston were Brandon Pokley 17, Oliver Kupe 16, both Tom Staton and Matt Kamieniecki chipped in 13 points.
Southfield’s high scorers were Austin Calhoun 17, Tim Keith 15, and Carlton Brundidge 14.
Clarkston hosted North Farmington on Monday, coming away with a win 57-51.
‘It’s like a semester test. It’s important,? said Fife going into the game.
‘It was an ugly win,? said Fife after the league game.
‘The game was not well played by either team, but I was happy with the win.?
Check out Wolfpack Update on www.ClarkstonNews.com to see how the cagers fared as they travel to Dakota High School tonight (Wednesday) and Troy High School on Friday. Both games start with JV playing at 5:30 p.m., with varsity following.