Overwhelming would be a good word to describe Clarkston’s 70-26 win over Lakeland in Wednesday’s basketball regional semifinal at Grand Blanc.
The Wolves, playing in their 14th consecutive regional playoffs, dominated the Eagles, taking the victory due largely in part to an 18-4 scoring advantage in the third quarter. With the win, Clarkston advances to their second consecutive regional final, Friday against Macomb Dakota at Grand Blanc. The winner will play Saginaw in the Class A state quarterfinals at Saginaw Valley State University March 20.
The cougars dropped the hosting Bobcats, 61-58 Tuesday to get to the finals.
The Wolves (20-3) dropped the Cougars 62-46 Feb. 28 at Clarkston one night after avenging an early-season loss to Pontiac Northern.
Wolves coach Dan Fife said the previous win over Dakota doesn’t hold water going into Friday’s game.
‘I don’t know that we learned anything because both of us were coming off games the night prior,? Fife said.
‘It was kind of like a scrimmage because both teams were worn out and tired. This game is going to be a much better, different game than we played a couple weeks ago.?
Wednesday’s win would likely help the Wolves pick up a head of steam for Friday’s game.
‘We’ve been un-fluent for a long time and as the second half wore on, we gained more confidence, which we need going into Dakota because they are a good ball team,? Fife said.
‘We know they’re competitive and they’re not going to just roll over for us.
‘That was a hard-fought game.?
Wednesday, Lakeland kept things close in the second quarter, but the Wolves carried a 26-13 edge into the locker room at the half. The Eagles helped subdue themselves by shooting 2/8 from the floor in a doomed third quarter.
‘That was the end of the game in the third quarter when we couldn’t score. We didn’t get any open looks either. They played great defense,? Eagles coach Bob Brugger said.
‘When you only score four points in the third quarter, you’re not going to beat anyone, especially Clarkston.?
‘The pressure defense. That was the difference. We put a lot of pressure on them and we just wore them down. A lot of scoring comes from their guards,? Fife said.
Lakeland came into the game with its third district championship in the past six seasons.
Eagles sophomore guard Michael Fugate did all he could to get things going for Lakeland (16-7) to no avail.
‘We hung him out to dry a little bit in the first half as far as people not moving to get open,? Brugger said.
‘In the first half, they (Clarkston) were just trying to wear him down, putting different guys on him. We don’t have a bench to go to in terms of ball-handling. Michael did a good job of handling the ball, but he just got wore down. It was constant pressure and we did not come to the ball, we were just standing around waiting.?
Fugate, a first-team all conference player this season in the Kensington Valley Conference, led the Eagles with 11 points.
Brugger said the Wolves? physical play was the biggest reason for defeat, because the Eagles were not used to that type of play in the KVC.
‘They were just too physical. From the start we couldn’t screen down low to get open and we couldn’t pop out. They were just too physical for us from the start. I wish we would have had a chance to slow it down and control the ball and the clock, but their defense was too good,? he said.
‘We’ve got some adequate big guys for our league, but not compared to Clarkston’s kids.?
Clarkston spread the ball around the floor and finished with six players putting together a six-point effort. Dan Owens scored 18 points and had two steals, Clarkston got nine points from Oliver Kupe, eight points by Ty Taylor who also had two steals, and seven points each from Bren Bergquist and Julius Porter. Alex Millard-Swan had six points in relief work.
‘People already know about (Dan) Owens, but our other kids need to be able to get their points within the offense and it was nice to see them get those shots,? Fife said.
‘We got a lot of baskets on our defensive pressure and transition. It was other kids making plays and we need that, we need everybody to step up and make plays, so they can’t just rely on Danny all the time.?