Looking to rebound from their first loss in nearly 20 years to conference foe Lake Orion, the Clarkston Wolves played a solid game against Southfield on Dec. 19.
In front of a home crowd, the Wolves regained their footing in a 79-66 win over the Bluejays from OAA II to improve their record to 3-1 for the season. With the loss, Southfield goes to 0-2.
Oliver Kupe, playing in his second game after returning from a national soccer program, led all scorers with 23 points. Dan Owens returned closer to his 2005-?06 average with 16 points, after nearing 30 in two games this season. Andy Lyons had 14 and Bren Begquist had nine points for Clarkston.
The Wolves? 10-point halftime lead, 35-25, was enough, although the Bluejays pulled within five points late in the game.
‘We played better, but we’re still trying to find our team and establish (its) character,? Clarkston Coach Dan Fife said.
‘We’re looking forward to the holidays so we can address some of the things we need to work on.?
Southfield Coach Gary Teasley said he switched his team’s game-plan late in the contest, but that move proved fruitless for his young team.
‘We were down five points within the last couple minutes in the game. We changed up our defense, which caused some difficulty and we had some lapses,? Teasley said.
‘In transition, they (Clarkston) got some easy lay-ups and we ended up trading baskets instead of cutting down that deficit and closing it out.?
The Southfield players are working on getting themselves onto the same page and will keep working to turn close losses into actual victories, Teasley said.
‘We’re not satisfied with moral victories at all. They know it; I know it and our program is committed to that. The kids don’t feel intimidated by that pressure, that challenge is going to make the best of them,? he said.
Sophomore guard Tim Keith led the Blue jays with 18 points in his first varsity game.
‘He’s broken into the lineup with juniors and seniors. He’s very competitive and he has basketball I.Q.?
Jonathan Lamb had14 points and six rebounds, Austin Calhoun had 13 points and six rebounds and Domonique Barns had 11 points.
Ty Taylor and Kevin Badgley had six and seven points respectively for the Wolves off the bench.
Clarkston will take the next two weeks off. The Wolves make their return on Jan. 5 versus the defending OAA champions, Pontiac Central, at 7 p.m. at Pontiac.