Beating Flint Southwestern Academy won Clarkston Varsity basketball its sixth regional title, but Saginaw’s the big prize.
‘They take speed and quickness to a whole ‘nother level,? said Coach Dan Fife. ‘It’s going to be difficult. It’s a great opportunity for our kids. They play more. They can intercept it. They are athletic. They can get it. Their speed is a little better than Southwestern, and they are used to winning. That makes a difference. When you are used to winning you can play a lot better.?
Flint Southwestern Academy pressed the Wolves last Wednesday in the regional playoffs, but Clarkston fought through it and won, 59-48.
‘We handled it pretty well, but we’re getting going too fast,? Fife said. ‘You gotta learn how to dictate tempo and it’s hard to do against teams like that. That’s going to be important.?
Southwestern led first period, 10-3.
The second quarter began and the Wolves were ready to take the lead. Julius Porter gained possession of the ball and scored a basket. Brandon Pokley followed up with his own field goal.
As both teams neared the end of the first half, Clarkston grabbed the lead and held onto it, going into half-time, 21-16.
Southwestern went into the third quarter strong on defense, closing to gap to two points.
A foul against the Wolves brought Tyrone Ward to the line. He shot one basket, tying them up, 23-23.
Two more points from each team kept thing even, but Pokley shot from outside to score his second field goal for the night, putting the Wolves into the lead, where they would stay for the rest of the night.
‘Our kind of basketball is team effort,? said Flint Southwestern’s coach Nate Perry.
‘I am proud of the way the team played. We played with a team effort, I don’t know one kid that was going to come out as a star any given night with the way our team goes ? I give Clarkston credit, they took our offense out of the flow.?
‘The only thing that’s been good for us is that we played a game like this tonight. It was a physical, full-court game with a lot of traps,? said Fife.
Pokley was the high scorer for the game, with 26 points. More high scorers for Clarkston were Porter, 17, and Matt Kamieniecki, 10.
High scorers for Southwestern were Brandon Thompson, 11, Kortez Odom-Ross, 9, and Martel Northern, 8.
Clarkston’s quarterfinals game against Saginaw (24-1) was set for Tuesday. To see how the Wolves did, go to www.ClarkstonNews.com.