By Wendi Reardon Price
Staff Writer
wprice@mihomepaper.com
INDEPENDENCE TWP. — The Clarkston Boys Basketball program bid farewell in Wolves’ fashion to the junior high school gymnasium last Friday with wins on all three levels.
The Clarkston Junior High School was constructed in 1959 and served as the high school for close to four decades. Within that time hosting full stands as the community witnessed victories, heartaches, school records set, winning championships including the Wolves boys basketball program winning its first district title.
“I’ve been here since like 1983,” said Tim Wasilk, current head coach for the boys varsity basketball team. “I was six years old. I remember running underneath the bleachers here and playing McGrath here. Then, practicing here and games here. I played varsity for three years with Coach (Dan) Fife and Coach (Eric) Chambers.”

“A lot of great games in this gym,” he shared. “A lot of sellouts. We didn’t lose much in here. It was a great atmosphere. You were trying to communicate with your teammates and you couldn’t even hear yourself talk because the student section had jugs and noisemakers. It was crazy. It was quite a home court advantage.”
The Wolves continued the legacy with a 69-22 win over Walled Lake Western.
“It was a good one,” Wasilk said. “We played three games in four days so we were sluggish tonight.”
Senior Quinn Rosenberg opened the game with a 3-pointer within the first minute of play.
Warrior Gavin Roberts tied the score with a 3-pointer of his own.
The Wolves responded with going on a 9-point run, beginning with a 3-pointer from junior Cole Charter and baskets from senior John Kaul, Rosenberg and Charter.
Roberts stopped the run with a basket for the Warriors with 3:37 left in the first quarter.
The Wolves scored four more points from junior Hayden Barrow and freshman Shane Dasuqi before closing the quarter with a 16-5 lead.
The Warriors hit three 3-point shots in the second quarter but it wasn’t enough as the Wolves outscored them 15-13 to continue the lead into halftime, 31-18.
Charter, Rosenberg and Kaul each scored 13 points. Charter had six assists, Rosenberg had four rebounds and Kaul had four steals. Junior Hayden Flavin scored eight points and sophomore Waylon Hunter had five points.
Sophomore Drew French scored the last basket in the gym for the boys with less than a minute left in the game.
“That’s cool,” said Wasilk. “It’s something to remember. He’s a really good kid, works hard. It was a good opportunity for him to get in there and score the final basket.”
JV won their game against the Warriors, 64-19; and freshman team won their game, 57-32.
The junior high school gym will be demolished this year as construction continues on the school. A new athletic complex is currently under construction.
“It was really cool to come back into this gym and play,” said Wasilk. “We practice here on Sundays, our freshman play here, but it’s just different when it’s a varsity game. So really cool, good experience for our kids. Good to have the fans come out and to be able to get in here one last time for the boys side. It’s all good. It was nice. It was a special event. John Bennick, principal, my wife, Sarah, assistant principal, and Jeff Kosin, athletic director, did a really good job putting this together. If I am missing anybody, I apologize. The gym looked really good. It was a really good experience.”
The varsity team lost to Groves on Thursday, 66-62. Flavin led with 20 points.
“We played a tough loss last night against Groves,” said Wasilk. “Our kids played a lot of minutes, and we gave up 18 in the first half. We adjusted our defense a little bit the second half to take away their three-point shooters, and I think they only scored four in the second half. We pushed the ball pretty well in transition.”
The JV team defeated Groves, 42-35, and the freshman team had a 62-46 victory.
The varsity team opened the week with a 54-25 win over Troy Athens, Jan. 14. Charter led with 13 points and five assists. Flavin had ten points and four rebounds. Rosenberg had six points and seven rebounds. Hayden Barrow had five points and seven rebounds. Ace Walters had five points and two steals.
The Wolves are on the road as they head to Ferndale on Thursday. JV plays at 5:30 p.m., varsity follows. Freshman host Ferndale at 5 p.m. All three levels head to Bloomfield Hills on Tuesday, Jan. 28. Freshman start the night at 4 p.m.
The girls basketball program will play their last JV and varsity games in the junior high school against Stoney Creek on Friday, Feb. 14.