BY WENDI REARDON PRICE
Clarkston News Sports Writer
The Wolves ended their winter season with a Sweet Sixteen finish at Lake Orion High School, March 16.
The Clarkston Boys Basketball lost to Detroit Catholic Central, 52-46, in the MHSAA Division 1 Regional 2 championship.
“It was a really competitive game,” said Tim Wasilk, head coach. “They defended really well. Most of our shots were contested. I thought we defended really well in the second half. They are a good team. We were pretty tight in the first half. Then, by the end of the first half they spread their lead to eight points. We came out in the second half and got to within one with four minutes left in the game. We just couldn’t get closer than that.”
Senior Keegan Wasilk led with 17 points and had seven rebounds, three assists and two steals. Senior Zach Austin scored eight points and had two rebounds and one steal. Senior Nate Steinman scored seven points and had five assists, four rebounds and one block. Sophomore Brody Kosin scored seven points and had four rebounds and four blocks. Junior Brayden Wiley score seven points and had two field goals. He had two assists, one rebound and one steal.

“Our effort was good and I was proud of our kids with the way they played,” said Wasilk.
The Wolves opened the week avenging their two regular season losses to Rochester Adams with a 64-46 win over the Highlanders in the regional semifinal.
“It was a really good win for us,” said Wasilk. “We shot the ball extremely well, defended really well. I was proud of us. We prepared really hard for that game. We defended well.”
Steinman led with 20 points with three field goals and had two assists. Junior Cavanaugh Diton had 15 points with three field goals in the second half and went 6-for-6 at the free throw line. He had six rebounds.
“Cavanaugh had a huge second half for us,” said Wasilk, adding his three field goals were all within a few minutes. “It really stretched our lead. It was a really spark for us from Cavanaugh. I’m just really happy for him. We don’t call a lot of plays for him. He is usually screening, rebounding and defending. He happened to be in the right spot at the right time when they were trapping. He knocked down some threes from the corner.”
Wasilk scored 12 points and had eight assists, seven rebounds and five steals.
“Keegan played a great all around game,” said coach.
Kosin scored eight points and had three rebounds and one steal.
The Wolves finished their season 14-10 overall and 5-7 in the OAA Red.
“We started out the season really strong,” said Wasilk. “We were pretty healthy. We did battle a lot of injuries during the season which did change a lot of our lineups. I think it gave a lot of kids the opportunity to play. It gave us a chance to create depth. By tournament time, it gave us a much stronger team as far as the bench goes.
“Coach Doug Colling and I were also proud of our kids battling throughout the year through the tough times and through adversity,” Wasilk added. “There were a lot of lessons to take from the season. By playoff time we had most of our guys back except one. It was good to play. Keegan missed seven games before playoffs. He was there for playoffs but not fully there. It was great to have him back because he made the team so much better.”
The Wolves graduate seven seniors Zach Austin, Jacob Beck, Kaden Dietlin, Bryce Jacob, Nathan Steinman, Keegan Wasilk and Caleb Woodbury.
Austin and Wasilk were with the team for four years while Steinman has been on the team for three years. The rest have been on the team for two years.
“The big thing with those guys was show a lot of toughness,” Wasilk said. “Those guys have been good at getting in the gym and making themselves better.”
He added they learned how to deal with adversity and how to be resilient – with COVID cancelling the season during playoffs in 2020, a shortened season last season and injuries this season.
“Being tough at tough times,” Wasilk said. “They are good kids. I wish we could have found a way to win that one on Wednesday for the kids. It wasn’t for the lack of effort.
“When Doug Colling and I took this job we had these guys help carry on the tradition with what Coach (Dan) Fife and Coach (Eric) Chambers left. Hopefully as the younger kids come up and play, they can look to those kids who were the bridge between the old and new with carrying on the Clarkston Basketball tradition.”
Colling also leaves as he retires from coaching both basketball and football.
“I would like to thank him for all the time he put forth,” Wasilk said. “The kids will miss him. He has been awesome the last four years, helping with this transition while taking over for Coach Fife and Coach Chambers. We will miss him a lot.”

  Boys Basketball