Returning seniors Oliver Kupe and Julius Porter led their team to victory in their first game of the season, winning 68-57 over Pontiac Central.
With a team of returning players and a lot of new, fresh faces, Coach Dan Fife echoed what Assistant Coach Eric Chambers said to the team, ‘it was a pretty good game for a team that doesn’t have a lot of experience.?
Along with starters Porter and Kupe, there are three new starters, sophomore Matt Kamieniecki, junior Brandon Pokley, and Tom Staton, transfer student from Ferndale.
‘Basically, young kids with a lot of pressure, a lot of strength. You can see the strength difference in kids,? said Fife. ‘We gotta get depth, but we’ll get that. That’s what being young and starting over again is about.?
The new team’s first half began with Kupe scoring the first two points of the game. Pontiac Central acted and added three points.
Clarkston responded by scoring more baskets and controlling the ball. They ended the first quarter with a 16-9 lead over Pontiac Central.
Kupe began the second quarter with three more baskets. Tom Staton helped the Wolves remain in control with a three-point throw with two minutes left until half time.
The Wolves led 33-17 at the end of the first half.
Pontiac Central came back from half-time putting up a fight, scoring 40 points in the second half of the game.
But Clarkston prevailed, keeping themselves ahead on points. They kept the ball away from Central in the last few minutes of the game.
‘First half, we really played well,? said Fife.
‘Second half, we got a little laxed, got a little lazy on our drops, made careless mistakes with the ball and those things you gotta tighten up. We gave up way too many lay-ups ? we made mistakes, but this game was good experience, a lot of good things to take from this game and learn from it. If we don’t, we’re gonna get funked.?
Going into the game against Pontiac Northern on Thursday, Fife and the team are ready.
‘You just play. You play whoever you have to play. It doesn’t matter who, you gotta compete hard all the time. It’s good for us,? said Fife.
‘We’re still trying to find our personality and determine who we are and what we are as a team. But the Pontiac schools, the teams we play, are going to come after us. You’re not going to be able to get comfortable or relaxed. They’re gonna come after us.?
Leading contributors of the game were Kupe with 19 points, Porter with 17, Pokley with 14, and Staton with 10, including two three pointers. High scorers from Pontiac Central were Spencer Galloway with 14 points, Drew Hopkins with 13, and Mike Miller with 10.
The JV team won their first game against Pontiac Central 49-37. High scorers of the game were Jordan Clark, Matt Rodgers, Nick Pike, and Matt Miller.
The Wolves will host Pontiac Northern Thursday, Dec. 13. The game begins at 7 p.m. following the Junior Varsity game, which starts at 5:30 p.m.