Everything being equal, the Clarkston Wolves were supposed to run the Troy High Colts out of the gym on Jan. 21.
Clarkston, the fourth ranked team in the State, had suffered their first loss of the season, 43-41, to Southfield Lathrup and needed to right the ship against a Troy High team which did not return any starters from last year. But a funny thing happened to the Wolves on the way to a blowout win against 3-7 (0-3) Troy High.
The Wolves blinked, the Colts bucked and an 11 point lead went up in flames. When the smoke cleared, Clarkston clung to a two point lead with under a minute remaining in the game.
‘These games make our team tougher. (Troy) is a tough place to play. Games like this will help us later in the year,? said senior gaurd Brad Goodman, who scored a game high 22 points, to go with five assists and four rebounds.
Goodman was especially nice in the closing moments of the fourth quarter as he calmly stroked four straight free throws to seal the victory for Clarkston, even as the raucous Troy High student section screamed for dear life.
‘We played (Clarkston) as tough as we possibly could and we just came up on the short end,? said Troy Coach Gary Fralick.
Troy led in the first quarter 6-2 before junior Joe Moran helped spark a 13-4 Clarkston run. Moran had seven of his 12 points in the first.
The Wolves led at the end of the first quarter 23-19, but began the second shooting 0-3 from the field and allowed Troy to tie the score.
Goodman took control for the Wolves however, canning a three from the top of the circle, breaking the tie and igniting an 11-0 Clarkston run to close the half.
As the second half opened, The Wolves held a 34-23 advantage. The two teams traded buckets throughout the third quarter, but when the fourth quarter arrived, Clarkston stopped trading and Troy kept hitting.
?(Troy) played really hard. What they lack in size they make up for with (their effort),? said Goodman.
Senior Guard Jonah Coulter nearly singlehandedly pulled the Colts ahead of the Wolves. When he poured in 10 of his 19 points in the fourth quarter.
‘Kids make shots against us that they don’t make against other teams,? said Clarkston Coach Dan Fife alluding to the bulls-eye placed on Clarkston’s backside by their lofty ranking.
The win against Troy got the Wolves back to their winning ways after losing to Southfield Lathrup on Jan. 18, 43-41.
In the game against Lathrup, the Wolves were victimized by poor shooting early and an inability to close the game out when it mattered. Goodman led all scorers against Lathrup with 21 points.
The Wolves game against Avondale team finished too late for this edition of The Clarkston News. Clarkston will travel to Ferndale for a late 7:30 p.m. start on Jan. 28.