Clarkston bounces back from loss with big win over Farmington

BY WENDI REARDON PRICE
Clarkston News Sports Writer
Cagers brought intensity to their 70-40 win over Farmington on Friday night at the Dan Fife Field House.
They opened the game with four points from Mike DePillo and Luke Scherler and closed the first quarter with a 19-6 lead.
“I liked our intensity from the start,” said Clarkston Boys Varsity Basketball Head Coach Tim Wasilk. “We were very focused. Looking at our guys we have had 12 days in a row. It’s our fifth game in 12 days. We haven’t had a day off. We looked tired, but when we came out and played we didn’t seem tired.”
The Falcons only scored ten points in the second quarter, with two field goals from Farmington’s Robert Davis, Jr. as Clarkston finished the first half with a 41-16 lead.

Junior Wolf Jacob Beck keeps the ball out of reach. Photo by Wendi Reardon Price

“We were pretty good in the first half defensively,” Wasilk said. “We got a lot of inside touches with our post players and got some shots in the first half. It was a good first half.”
During the second half, the Wolves continued to hold their lead and all players saw minutes on the court. All but three players scored during the night.
“It was good the end of the third quarter and beginning of fourth quarter to get guys minutes who haven’t gotten minutes,” Wasilk said. “They’ve been practicing, getting after it. For them to get in the fourth quarter and do some things was nice to see.”
Keegan Wasilk led the team with 15 points, 15 rebounds and seven assists. Scherler had ten points and eight rebounds. Zach Austin had nine points and four rebounds. Nathan Steinman had nine points which included two field goals in the first quarter and three steals; DePillo had eight points, seven rebounds and three blocks. Desman Stephens had six points and three steals and Isayah Harris had five points, two steals and four rebounds.
“We have had pretty good balance,” Wasilk said. “Even within our starters. I think we will see a lot of that this year. We don’t have a 20-point scorer on the team like last year, so we have more balance. In one way, it could make us tougher to guard because guys can’t just focus on one person.”
The Wolves lost to Ferndale, 56-49, Feb. 16. Austin led with 13 points, DePillo had 11 points and nine rebounds; Steinman had nine points and five assists. Scherler had eight points, Harris had four points and Keegan had four points and seven assists.
“We let that one slip away,” Wasilk said, adding they had two good practices after the loss and made some adjustments on offense. “More screening, more cutting, moving the ball side-to-side. I think it helped with us tonight. We got away from running set plays tonight because we really didn’t need to. We just worked on moving the ball, screening and cutting.”
The Wolves (5-1) beat Birmingham Groves on Saturday, 48-42. DePillo led with 16 points.
They head to Ferndale on Wednesday and Oak Park on Monday. They host West Bloomfield on Monday. JV plays at 5:30 p.m., varsity follows. Due to COVID restrictions, spectators are limited to two per athlete.

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