BY WENDI REARDON PRICE
Clarkston News Sports Writer
Dan Fife had a dream when he was playing for Clarkston Basketball – the state championship.
His dream as well as the dream of countless players after him came true as the Wolves defeated Grand Rapids Christian in the the MHSAA Boys Basketball Class A State Championship game at Michigan State University’s Breslin Center on Saturday afternoon.
“It’s really unexplainable,” said Fife, who has been at the helm for 35 years as head coach. “I really don’t know how to put it. I am proud of the kids. I have said it before and I truly mean it – Clarkston is a special place. We have great support from our administration, staff and families. I don’t think you can be successful in athletics in today’s world without that kind of support from everyone.”
“This whole season has been a great journey for my teammates and myself,” said junior guard Foster Loyer. “Winning the championship not only means a lot to us as a team and a family, but to know we were able to get it done for Coach Fife – that’s what we have been dreaming about since we started playing basketball in Clarkston. It has been a phenomenal experience.”
Championship game: Clarkston vs. Grand Rapids Christian, 75-69
The Eagles opened the game with two points from senior Xavier Tillman before sophomore Taylor Currie tied off his own basket.
Both teams spent the first quarter fighting for the lead until Loyer scored on a 3-pointer with 2:45 remaining, putting the score 11-8. The next three buckets from the Wolves were from behind the arc for 3-points each to end the quarter 20-12.
The Wolves held Grand Rapids to 17 points during the second quarter as the Eagles fought to close in. They closed the gap by three off a field goal from junior Tre Vallar. A shot from Clarkston junior CJ Robinson at the buzzer ended the half, 34-29.
Robinson opened the third quarter with a 3-pointer off an assist from Loyer to keep the momentum going for the Wolves.
“Credit to Clarkston,” said Mark Warners, head coach for the Eagles. “They responded and made shots. They were awesome. We were good, but we weren’t awesome. Offensively we were fine. The problem was we gave up 75 points.”
“It’s like coach said before the game – no regrets. Give it all you’ve got,” said Tillman, who scored 25 points. “That’s exactly what I did.”
Loyer led the team with 29 points with five rebounds and three assists.
“Foster can handle the ball,” said Tillman, who will be Loyer’s future teammate at MSU. “He can shoot the ball. It was hard to stop him. He’s going to be a good player for us at Michigan State. He can score – that’s what we need. After the game it’s cool to realize I will be playing with him.”
Currie scored 16 points and had ten rebounds.
“It’s something I try to take pride in this year. we always talk about knowing your role. Rebounding with my size helps. It’s something I can do to help us keep winning,” Currie said.
“He did a good job rebounding,” Fife added. “He has grown a lot. He moved from out of state to Michigan to play a state championship game. He has really gained a lot of experience.”
Robinson added 14 points and Alderson had 12 points, finishing his high school career with 1,576 points for sixth in school history.
Semifinal round on March 24: Clarkston vs. West Bloomfield, 78-35
Third times was the charm as the Wolves faced OAA Red foe West Bloomfield for the third time in the season for Clarkston’s third visit to the semifinals.
“I coached my heart out,” Fife said Friday afternoon. “When we are playing like that on all cylinders we are hard to beat. We moved the ball well, we rebounded well, we got the ball out, we got a lot of shots out in transition. Our defense was really good today. We knew we were going to have trouble with (Kevin) McAdoo because he hurt us in the two games we played against them earlier.”
He admitted he was nervous going into the game because it’s hard to beat a team three times.
“Our kids were mentally ready and prepared to play the game,” Fife said.
“You come into each game as a team and each individual has the mindset to play their heart out and do the little things that will set themselves up to do well on the offensive end,” Loyer added. “It’s not about coming into the game and trying to score points. It’s about doing the little things to help your team. Our team did a great job coming out tonight and throwing that first punch and setting the standard how we will play the rest of the game.”
The Wolves opened with a 7-2 run with points from Loyer, Currie and Alderson before senior Tyler Davis scored for the Lakers on a 3-pointer. Clarkston added six more points to the board before the Lakers scored another 3-pointer, this time from McAdoo.
The Wolves went on a 9-point run led by Loyer with seven points before West Bloomfield scored again and the quarter closed with Clarkston leading, 24-13.
They added onto their lead with a pair of 3-pointers from Robinson and Loyer in the second quarter before scoring 12 more in the next five minutes, closing the half with a 42-24 lead. Loyer contributed 20 points during the half.
“Foster just didn’t miss,” said Jeremy Denha, head coach for the Lakers. “He ran their offense really well. They were hitting every jump shot. Clarkston played a phenomenal game and outcompeted us in many facets.”
The Wolves continued hitting their shots and with less than five minutes left in the game activated the running clock with the score 73-33.
“We moved the ball well,” said Alderson. “We didn’t force any shots. Our cuts were strong, our screens were perfect. Currie played well today. He boxed out real well. We knew at least three or four of their guys would go across the boards.”
The gap gave the Wolves the opportunity to put more players into the game from off the bench.
With 2:36 remaining in the game the crowd cheered as senior Raymond Pistonetti contributed with his bucket. A point from junior Demond Mills-Bradley closed the game, 78-35.
“It’s a tough one to swallow today especially when we were on the ride we were on to get here,” said Denha, head coach for the Lakers, adding the team didn’t win a district in his seven years as coach.
The Wolves added it meant a lot to them to get the win and get their coach into the championship game.
“To Coach Fife I don’t think he will admit what it means to him, but I think it’s definitely everyone’s goal at the beginning of every season,” said Loyer. “You go into each season with the ultimate goal to finish with a win.”
“To be honest I am not worried about what it means to me,” Fife admitted. “I have an expectation, I have always had one no matter what I am doing. The reality is I dreamt of playing in the state championship when I was in high school. It was always my dream. I am trying to instill in the kids to have the same dream – to play basketball and get to this point. They will remember this for the rest of their lives regardless of what happens. When you work that hard and you work all summer, after practice and before practice -it’s a means to the end. If it comes from within, not coming from mom and dad and not coming from coach, it makes it easier to coach.”
Loyer led with 32 points, seven assists and three steals. Alderson scored 27 points. Currie had 16 rebounds, three blocks and ten points.
Quarterfinal round on March 21: Clarkston vs. Saginaw, 70-50
“Winning this game is a dream come true for the kids,” said Fife, about the Wolves making their third trip to the Final Four in Clarkston history. “It’s a good experience for me to be involved. My assistant coaches did a great job with the preparation and getting everything put together for us. Our kids ran pretty well.”
He added it was a big win especially in a game he expected for a “hard, fought, intense game.”
The Trojans opened the game with two points and Robinson met it with his own two points, followed by six points from Loyer and Alderson.
Clarkston widened the gap posting 12 more points and before the quarter closed Saginaw scored on a 3-pointer to end the stanza, 18-12.
The Wolves continued to add points to the board from the duo of Alderson and Loyer and closed the first half with a basket from junior Nick Wells before Saginaw scored a 3-pointer at the buzzer, 35-19.
Loyer led with 27 points and Alderson scored 21 points. Robinson had 13 points, seven rebounds, four steals and four assists.
“He’s an outstanding role player because he can score,” said Fife. “He can make plays. He is really a point guard. It’s just he is behind Foster usually in that situation. Those are two pretty good guards taking care of the ball at game time.”
Loyer finished the season named to the 2017 Associated Press Class A First-Team All-State. Alderson received Honorable Mention as a player and Fife earned Honorable Mention as coach.

  Boys Basketball, State champions, Wolves