The Wolves dominated the court last Friday after grabbing control of the scoreboard against West Bloomfield, leading them to a 72-30 victory.
“We needed a game like that,” long-time Clarkston Boys Varsity Basketball head coach Dan Fife reflected after the game. “We have been struggling for a long time to find our identity and hopefully it will help us as we go forward.”
“It was definitely a step forward,” added senior Jordan Dasuqi. “We were trying to find out who we are as a team and I think we focused a lot better on defense. Our goal was to keep them under 30.”
The Lakers were the first to get on the board in the game with a basket. Juniors Michael Nicholson and Press Kampe aided the Wolves to take the lead with a basket each of their own to grab a small lead, 4-2.
West Bloomfield came back and both teams played tug of war of control of the scoreboard.
With the Lakers leading 9-6, the Wolves turned things around and went on a 10-point run led by Dasuqi.
West Bloomfield scored two more points but Clarkston would have the final say before the quarter ended. Senior Nate Yeloushan passed the ball to Dasuqi. Dasuqi placed himself behind the arc and shot the ball for a 3-pointer before the buzzer ended the quarter to put the score 19-11.
The Wolves continued to hold control of the game into the second quarter only allowing the Lakers to score eight points – two from free throw shots.
“The defense intensity was the difference,” added Fife. “Our intensity level and our rebounding changed tonight. We hadn’t done it out there with the lights on yet. If we play like that we are going to get better. If we don’t play like that we are taking steps back.”
Junior Nick Owens started the fire in the second half with two 3-pointers, beginning a 15-point run for the Wolves. They closed the third quarter with the score 63-25.
Dasuqi led the team with 25 points and scored two field goals. Owens added 11 points to the board and had three 3-pointers and sophomore Andrew Myers had eight points with one field goal.
“I was glad to see Dasuqi relax and play,” said Fife. “He has put a lot of heat on himself to go out there to be a senior leader and a player. Yeloushan for the first time didn’t start. He came off the bench and played hard. All of our kids played well.”
They played Pontiac on Tuesday and won 53-44. They are on the road as they head to Southfield, 24675 Lahser Road, on Friday at 4 p.m., and Oxford, 745 North Oxford Road, next Tuesday.
“No matter who we have we are preparing for the next game,” said Dasuqi. “We just have to do the same thing we have been doing. We pride ourselves on defense. We have to keep stepping forward and make sure we don’t step backwards.”
JV begins at 5:30 p.m., varsity follows.