Holding the district title trophy in victory, seniors Matt Calvano and Tommy Ronk were happy but weren’t jumping for joy.
The team’s 16th district title in a row, they’re used to it. Helping the team to a double-digit win against Lake Orion, Friday night, they did enough jumping on the court.
‘Winning a district championship is always an accomplishment,? said Clarkston Coach Dan Fife. ‘But going into regionals, we’ve got to be ready to play.?
A regional semi-final victory, 65-46, over Flint Southwestern, Monday, puts them in the finals against rivals Pontiac Northern.
The boys defeated Waterford Kettering, March 11. Kettering kept close and narrowed Clarkston’s lead to three points. The first half ended with the score, 29-26.
Brandon Pokley started the third quarter with a 3-pointer and started the boys on a 12-point run.
The Captains only scored two points with ten minutes remaining in the game and weren’t able to get past the Wolves? defense blocks from Matt Kamieniecki, Tom Staton, Brandon Verlinden and Tyler Scarlett.
As the game came to a close, Jared Lawrence and Jonathan Baenziger widened
the gap on the scoreboard by adding their own baskets. The crowd stood as Shane Kouri took position and shot a 3-pointer and ended the game, 58-28.
‘Kettering was a good team,? said Kouri. ‘Once we got a lead they fumbled a little bit and got nervous.?
Pokley led against Kettering with 25 points and connected six 3-point shots. Staton added 16 points.
Next, the boys took on Lake Orion rivals on Friday night and won, 59-25.
The Dragons held onto the lead from the beginning of the game, but shots from Kamieniecki and Staton brought the boys into the lead.
‘I was concerned with how the kids would approach the game,? said Fife. ‘They were a little lax at the beginning, but they turned up the defense.?
Pokley added one more to end the 10- point run, putting the boys 13-5. With the lead continuing to grow by each minute in the game, Fife took the opportunity to put all of the players into the game.
‘They all did a good job,? he said. ‘We got a lot of kids a lot of good minutes, so that was good.?
Staton led with 16 points. Pokley added 13 and Kamieniecki had 11 points. The boys finished their regular season on March 5 with the last two games finishing in overtimes.
‘The last month we had been struggling,? said Fife. ‘I think all of that keep our kids right where they should be.?
The boys will remember the lessons from all of the past games and use them as they moved forward into regional playoffs.
‘Work hard as always,? said Kouri.
The Wolves? game against Pontiac Northern in the regional final Wednesday night will be at Troy-Athens High School, 4333 John R. The game begins at 7 p.m. It will be the boys? last game against Northern, which is merging with Pontiac Central.