Seniors lead in win over Cougars

By Wendi Reardon Price
Clarkston News Sports Writer
The Wolves closed the regular season with 69-33 win over Stoney Creek at home last Thursday.
“They team played good,” said Clarkston Boys Varsity Basketball Head Coach Tim Wasilk. “We had a few too many turnovers than I would like. We missed some shots around the buckets. We need to do some work on the free throw line as we know. Overall we shared the basketball. We had a lot of guys score tonight – almost everybody.”
It was also senior night for the Wolves as they celebrated Cavanaugh Diton, Frank Schuster and Brayden Wiley.
Schuster was the first to score for the Wolves in the night after Stoney Creek opened the game with a 3-pointer.

Cole Church works his way inside in the first half against Stoney Creek last Thursday. Photo: John Ransom

Schuster responded scoring on his own 3-point shot to tie the game and adding another two points to put the Wolves into the lead.
“It was good to see Frank come out,” said Wasilk. “He hasn’t played a whole lot this year. He has worked his butt off all year – great kid, super coachable. It’s really good for him to come out and hit two threes tonight. He played really hard. I am excited for him.”
The Wolves closed the first quarter with a basket from junior Desman Stephens off a pass from sophomore John Kaul, 16-10.
Stephens opened the second quarter with the first six points as Clarkston continued to build their lead over the Cougars. They finished the first half with a 30-16 lead which included 3-pointers from junior Matthew Plieger and Kaul in the last two minutes.
Stephens led the Wolves with 17 points. Diton scored 11 points, including a 3-pointer, in the second half.
“Diton did a good job tonight,” Wasilk said. “He really did a good job in the fourth quarter. He’s just been solid for us all year and the glue for our team. It was great to see those guys play well on senior night.”
Schuster and Kaul each scored eight points and had two field goals. Freshman Cole Charter had seven points.
Wasilk added Wiley did not get to play during senior night due to an injury.
“It was unfortunate he was unable to play, but next week we have home district games so it will be nice to get him back for a home game or more,” Wasilk said.
He added Charter had a good night.
“He came in and played most of our point guard,” Wasilk said. “For a freshman to come in and play the way he did was really good. He showed a lot of poise and maturity and handled the ball really well. I was proud of him.”
Wasilk shared it was good night as more players got minutes and they scored points throughout the night.
“We haven’t had many of those games this year,” he said. “All of our games have been really close. It was good to see some of the guys get a chance because they have been working hard in practice.”
The Wolves (13-9) host the MHSAA Boys Basketball Division 1 District 6 playoffs this week.
“It is a competitive district,” said Wasilk. “We are excited to host. We are just going to try to keep getting better the next couple of days. We will see what happens.”
Clarkston plays in the district semifinal on Wednesday. The district final is Friday. Both games are at 7 p.m.
The district champion moves on to Regional 2 at Fenton High School with the semifinal on Monday at 7 p.m.

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