With a thunderous dunk at the buzzer, Clarkston’s Chris Johnston entertained the CHS faithful and capped a 62-50 win against Pontiac Northern.
‘We have not dunked much in my 22 years here,? Clarkston coach Dan Fife said. ‘This is the second time for Johnston and Dane did it once, but before that you need to go back. If you try to dunk you better not miss.?
Johnston did not miss much Friday night as he scored a game-high 23 points including 10 in the fourth quarter when the Wolves held off every Pontiac Northern rally.
‘Johnston has come a long way in this program. He is stronger than he looks and he has great hands. We really want to get the ball to him,? Fife said.
Clarkston entered the final quarter with a 43-35 lead but the Huskies could get no closer than five points, which they did five times. A late flurry by the Wolves turned the highly contested game into the 12 point victory.
‘I think you saw how hard we have to play in order to win,? Fife said.
The game was close throughout the first half. Johnston and Robbie Clark each scored seven points for Clarkston in the first quarter. A jumper by Clark at the buzzer gave the Wolves a 17-15 lead. It would be a lead they would not lose the rest of the game.
After Clarkston extended their lead to 29-21 in the second quarter, Pontiac Northern made a late run to make it a three point game at halftime.
‘We knew Pontiac Northern was going to have some runs but the way you stop runs is by playing defense and making them work for points,? Fife said.
Clarkston held a slim 34-33 lead midway through the third quarter when Brad Goodman took over the game. A Goodman jumper, lay-up and three-pointer extended the Wolves? advantage to 41-33.
‘Goodman is a confident kid who really believes in himself,? Fife said.
Goodman and Clark both finished with 11 points.
The Wolves are now 11-3 overall and 6-1 in league play which is good for first place in the OAA I.
‘We really fed off our crowd,? Clark said. ‘To shut down Northern and to hold them to 50 points is outstanding. We are not going to be outscoring people so we need to play defense. It was the best defense we played all season.?
Fife is now guarding against overconfidence with his team.
‘We have a tendency to let up sometimes and I want to make sure that does not happen. I don’t know if we read our press clippings or what,? Fife said. ‘We can’t afford to get comfortable or overconfident. We have to play way too hard to win.?