The Wolves headed into battle with West Bloomfield on Friday for a chance to tie Pontiac Northern for the top spot in Oakland Activities Association I standings.
The Lakers (11-3) came to Clarkston riding high after upsetting Northern one week earlier and claiming first place in the OAA. The Wolves were in the midst of a five-game winning streak with only one loss in the OAA (3-1) coming in.
Clarkston capitalized on a major injury to West Bloomfield’s scoring corps. and improved its defense for a 51-37 victory.
The Wolves were able to learn from defensive shortcomings against Rochester Adams days earlier where the Highlanders took them to near defeat.
‘I talked to them Wednesday and showed them film of what we were doing wrong against Adams defensively,? Clarkston coach Dan Fife said.
‘They’re all great students, so when you can show them something instead of yelling at them, they can see it.?
Clarkston was able to stop the Lakers? front court from becoming the playmakers on Friday.
‘Of all the things we have trouble with is stopping penetration. I thought we did a good job up front with their little guys who were penetrating to make plays for them,? Fife said.
Mike Przydzial went down late in the first quarter after injuring his ankle in a pack of post-players going for a rebound. The Lakers? offensive attack was a shadow of the juggernaut that downed the then no. 9 state-ranked Huskies.
‘We just didn’t have anyone else to go to inside and that hurt us real bad,? West Bloomfield coach Larry Moore said.
‘He was a major scorer and rebounder and we needed him in the game real bad.?
With Przydzial’s absence, Moore went to freshman Darryl Durham to try and fill the hole.
‘He did really well, but we needed the senior leadership,? Moore said.
The Lakers were forced to use Josh Eichelberger as the main scoring option without Przydzial’s six-seven presence down low.
‘They compliment each other,? Moore said.
‘Every time Eichelberger put the ball on the floor they were double and triple teaming him and they couldn’t do that with Przydzial on the floor.?
Eichelberger did finish with 14 points, but 11 of those came in the first half. The Lakers were out-scored 32-14 in the second half.
West Bloomfield led at the half, 23-19.
After the Wolves took a 12-2 lead in the first quarter, the Lakers began to liven up. They just needed a little help from Eichelberger, who made a layup and sank a three pointer. Eric Ellis? layup at the end of the quarter pulled West Bloomfield closer at 12-9. The Lakers had begun a 19-5 run in their comeback, which lasted nearly a full quarter until the end of the half.
The game was close throughout the third quarter, where the Wolves outscored the Lakers 12-6.
West Bloomfield ended its hopes for victory by only scoring three points in the first five minutes of the final quarter. Clarkston’s 20-8 scoring advantage came from the Wolves? ability to break down the Lakers? defense.
‘I didn’t think they were willing to guard us for more than two or three passes, so when we moved it around, we got open shots and got what we wanted,? Clarkston guard Dan Owens said.
Owens finished with another game high, 19 points, nine in the third quarter.
Although Clarkston led for nearly all of the fourth quarter, Fife stayed on guard.
‘With 0:48 left, we were shooting free throws. That’s about the time I think I can relax,? he said.
Bren Bergquist had 10 points for Clarkston. Julius Porter and Oliver Kupe both added six points.