Stepping foot into Southfield High School’s gym on Friday was not the monumental game the Wolves expected.
The day before a Clarkston fan pointed out the record long-time Wolves Coach Dan Fife had in his office was not the correct record from the first season.
‘I read one of my deals wrong. I have pictures of all my teams and their records. In my first season, I had a team record 20-3 and we were actually 21-3,? said Fife.
It meant the milestone of 500 wins in Fife’s varsity career was made when the boys beat Pontiac Central last Tuesday night, 70-46.
It didn’t matter for the Clarkston fans as they filled Southfield’s gym and showed their support for the team and Fife as they continued their undefeated record in the 58-42 win over the Bluejays.
‘All wins are important. All wins come differently,? said Fife. ‘It was a good win, a tough win. It’s good to get a win in this gym. Their kids are prepared and they did a nice job. The way they played made us play differently – holding the ball. You have to be a strong, disciplined team to deal with that.?
This win started off slow for the Wolves. They only finished off a few shots and put five points on the board in the first quarter.
The Bluejays kept a close eye on Clarkston, and kept the score tied until the last 30 seconds when Deandre Sutton brought them into the lead with a basket, 7-5.
The lead was short-lived for the Bluejays as the boys picked up speed from Matt Kamieniecki’s dunk at the beginning of the next quarter. Tom Staton followed it up with two buckets. Tyler Scarlett added his own and Brandon Pokley topped off the lead with a 3-point shot.
Pokley made it into his shooting zone into the end of the third quarter and continued it into the rest of the game. He connected six 3-point throws during the game.
‘Our mind set has to be better,? said Brandon Verlinden. ‘The guys off the bench played really well. It was a slow game. Pokley came out in the second half and got his shots off.?
Pokley led the game with 24 points and Staton had 16 points.
Trent Ware led for the Bluejays with 17 points.
On Tuesday, Kamieniecki and Pokley led with 12 points in Clarkston’s last game in the Pontiac Central gym.
Luke Prudhomme contributed with ten points from two 3-point throws and was 4-4 at the line.
Scarlett, Staton and Jon Baenzinger each added a 3-pointer.
Pierre Quinn led Central with 10 points.
The boys are now getting ready for the end of their regular season and going into district playoffs.
‘We are down to four games. Now everything gets even more significant,? said Fife. ‘We are still playing for the league title. It’s getting down to crunch time and we need to have improvements all the time.?
The team played Rochester Adams in a OAA crossover game on Tuesday and will finish with the remaining games in OAA Red action as they continue to add more wins to their current 16-0 record.
‘We want to go undefeated, but one game at a time,? said Verlinden.
As for reaching 501 wins on Friday, Fife focused the victory on Clarkston’s program and the players.
‘It’s not Dan Fife and it’s not 500 wins. It’s their (players?) legacy that they’re leaving. All of these players before that created the 500 wins and who they became as adults, that really becomes a significant part of 500.?
The boys play Oak Park at home on Thursday night and head to West Bloomfield next Tuesday.
JV begins at 5:30 p.m., varsity follows.
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JV also had a close game against Southfield. They were in the lead with one point when Alan Kamieniecki shot a 3-pointer.
Zach Collins added another basket as the boys continued to widen the gap.
Matt Rodgers and Mitch Baenziger were sent to the line for two shots for fouls made against them adding four points to the ending score, 54-49.