After six straight years of being denied at quarterfinals, Clarkston earned their ticket to semifinals as they beat Flint Northwestern.
As the final buzzer sounded, players ran across the basketball court, greeted by Coach Dan Fife, Assistant Coach Eric Chambers and the rest of the team with hugs and celebration, beating the Wildcats, 70-67.
‘All of us came in excited,? said Senior Brandon Pokley. ‘We knew we had the best chance to take Coach Fife to the Breslin Center.?
Fife was congratulated with hugs from Clarkston coaches, fans, and past players, who have been anxiously waiting for the team to come this far since Fife became head coach 27 years ago.
‘This group reaps the benefits, but others know the frustrations like I do,? said Fife between hugs. ‘So many kids have been here and so many kids have tried. It’s awesome to have this feeling.?
But the win wasn’t just for the team and the coaching staff; it was for the supporters who yelled, cheered and followed the team every step of the way, he said.
‘When people talk about it takes a community to raise a kid, it takes a whole community to raise a program,? said Fife. ‘We get so much support from our fans. I have great support from our administration. Really it’s a community win.?
As the boys went into the second half of the game against the Wildcats they were three points behind, 29-26.
Tyler Scarlett tied the game two minutes into the third quarter at 32 points and Tom Staton brought the boys into the lead seconds later going in for a layup.
The Wolves gained more ground when Pokley scored two free throw shots, a basket, and a 3-point field goal.
Matt Kamieniecki added one more basket for a crowd pleaser as a time out was called. The boys went into the huddle with a ten point lead, 43-33.
‘We just played a tough defense,? said Senior Tommy Ronk. ‘We made our shots when we needed to. Pokley made his shots and Kami made his shots. We played pretty well and we played good defense which was key.?
Wildcats Walter Trouser and Chatavius Turner narrowed the lead and as both teams played out the last two minutes of action, Turner added four points to bring Clarkston’s lead to two points.
The Wolves only had a few more seconds left for one last play and to make sure Northwestern didn’t gain control of the ball. Staton passed the ball to Pokley and as Pokley ran towards the hoop, he was fouled on.
He received two shots at the line and scored one, ending the game 70-67.
‘We are a second half team. We start slow in the first half, but we bring the intensity in the second half,? said Pokley.
Pokley led with 22 points and connected three 3-point shots. Kamieniecki added 18 and Staton had 15 points.
Trouser led the Wildcats with 24 points.