Tom Staton grabbed the ball from Southfield-Lathrup’s control and ran towards the other side of the court.
The Charger’s defense quickly moved forward to stop Staton from making it past the center of the floor. Staton spun around defenders, keeping the ball in motion, and passed to teammate Brandon Verlinden.
Verlinden scored a basket, furthering Clarkston’s lead by two more points and the Wolves? fans filled the air with applause and cheers.
It was only the first quarter, and Verlinden’s basket put the boys, 14-5.
The boys continued to lead until the end, for a 57-36 finish, putting them at a 14-0 record.
‘That was a very good win tonight and I think a lot of that was our home court advantage because that was a good team,? said Wolves Head Coach Dan Fife.
The score may have showed a 21-point lead for the boys, but it didn’t reflect the fight the boys put in to get past Lathrup and the work they put into blocking Lathrup from scoring baskets, Fife said.
‘We had a tough time that was a very good team to beat tonight,? he said.
‘I think it was our defensive effort. Our boys played an outstanding defense. I am proud of the way we played. I really believe it was a home court advantage. If we would have played on their court with that team and that kind of talent, it could’ve been different. That was a hard fought win.?
The boys beat Troy earlier in the week, 66-41.
‘We were on fire early,? said Fife about the game against Troy. ‘We took the wind out their sails early in the game so they really couldn’t recover.?
The boys led in the first quarter, 22-9, and kept them down to five points in the next quarter.
The leading scorers for the week were Matt Kamieniecki and Brandon Pokley against Troy. Kamieniecki scored 20 and Pokley added 17 points to the board. Both scored two 3-point shots in the game. Luke Prudhomme nd Staton added one 3-point shot.
Pokley led in the game against Lathrup with 23 points and Staton had 13 points.
During the last four games, Fife has seen a lot of effort from the entire team on their journey to the finals, including Cagers that don’t get to see a lot of playing time.
‘They have been discouraged because of the lack of playing time,? said Fife. ‘We have been having great practices, a lot more intense. It has really helped our team to keep their focus because they tend to get lax and overconfident and full of themselves. The second group had a great first 10 minutes of practice and has really helped us.?
It will move the boys forward when they play Southfield this Friday. They beat the Bluejays earlier in the season on Jan. 21, 68-50.
‘They are a talented team,? said Fife. ‘We played them here and beat them pretty easy. When we get through Tuesday we can start planning.?
Depending on how the boys played on Tuesday against Pontiac Central and on Friday, the two wins this week will put Fife at 500 wins in his career as Wolves Varsity Coach.
The freshman team will play Southfield at home in the junior high gym at 4:30 p.m.
JV will play the Bluejays at 5:30 p.m., varsity follows.
JV won their games last week, including a close game against Lathrup.
The boys ended the third quarter in the lead by one point.
During the next eight minutes the both sides matched point to point with each other.
As the buzzer sounded they still had a one point lead, but a foul against Nick Pike sent Shawn Reid to the line for two shots. Reid missed the the basket and the Wolves won, 40-39.
Pike kept the boys in the lead with four points and Mitch Baenziger and Joey Goss added two points each in the last quarter.