Molasses, giant tortoises, tectonic plate movement, Clarkston and West Bloomfield’s first half of play on Feb. 18.
After stilted play in the first half left Clarkston down 13-12, seniors Brad Goodman and Robbie Clark were not about to let the Wolves lose in their home court finale. The tandem came alive in the second half, pouring in 26 of Clarkston’s 35 points in the third and fourth quarters to carry the Wolves to a 47-33 defeat of the Lakers.
?(West Bloomfield) called a time out and me and Robbie said ‘Enough with how we’ve been playing, (it’s time) to take control and show some leadership.? And we did that,? said Goodman.
While West Bloomfield hung with the increased scoring pace in the third quarter, a 15-0 run by Clarkston in the fourth showed the difference between the top and the bottom of the OAA division I.
‘This is the best program I’ve seen in this league. We wanted to measure ourselves tonight,? said West Bloomfield Coach Derrick Owens, whose team fell to 2-16 (2-8).
Clarkston, coming in, had blown out Troy 70-26 on Feb.15, and the near capacity crowd in the CHS gym expected a similar showing from the Wolves against the Lakers.
Clarkston, though came out with a thorn in their paw as they opened the game 1-13 from the field. West Bloomfield could only muster a 6-2 lead at the end of the first quarter as Clarkston clogged the passing lanes forcing eight turnovers in the first eight minutes.
?(West Bloomfield) is a lot better than their record. They played well and stuck to their game plan. They’d make seven or eight passes and wait for us to break down and then we’d come back and miss shots,? said Clarkston Coach Dan Fife, who felt Southfield Lathrup’s stall tactics on Feb. 4 prepared the Wolves to handle the Lakers? deliberate style.
As both teams felt each other out, the tepid scoring pace took a toll on the crowd. After Goodman had sunk a free throw to give Clarkston a 17-16 lead, one person in attendance was so overcome by their emotions they launched an unidentifiable piece of debris onto the court. Unable to identify the incontinent fan, the entire student section was cleared for the rest of the half.
?(West Bloomfield) did a lot to us tonight. There was a lot of different (defensive looks). The good thing about that is that our kids have seen just about anything you can throw at us,? said Fife. ‘I don’t know if we deserved to win, but we won. It was an ugly win, but it’s a lot better than a pretty loss.?
Back to back three point shots by Clark and Goodman signaled the start of the game in earnest. The senior duo proved to be too much down the stretch.
‘It’s just weird that I will never ever play here again. People say high school flies by you… It really does. I can remember my first game as a sophomore playing varsity and now it just seems like it’s just flown by,? said Goodman, who scored Clarkston’s first seven points in the third period.
Clark finished with a game high 17 points with three rebounds, three steals and a block. By the time Goodman caught his breath, he had amassed 14 points and five steals. Senior Scott Lyons hauled in six rebounds, had three steals and drew three charges in the game.
In the coming years, the Lakers may loom large on the calendar for the Wolves as they are young and talented, especially sophomores Michael Przydial and Derek Palm. Przydial had 11 points, 10 boards and six blocks while Palm recorded 11 points and eight caroms.
Clarkston pushed their record to 16-2 (8-2) on the season and is currently ranked 10th in the state.
With a win at Auburn Hills Avondale on Feb.22, Clarkston can assure a tie for the OAA division I league title with Pontiac Northern. The game finished too late for this edition of The Clarkston News.
The Wolves close out the regular season at Southfield on Feb. 25 before opening district play at Waterford Kettering on Feb. 28 against Brandon.