Though they defeated Waterford Kettering 65-49 in the opening round of district play on March 6, not many smiles graced the faces of Clarkston’s basketball team as they emerged from the locker room.
‘If we keep playing like that the season will be over,? Clarkston Coach Dan Fife said.
In letting Kettering jump out to a 5-0 lead to start the game and hang around until midway through the third quarter, Fife worries his team is not taking the district field seriously enough.
‘We need to be prepared mentally. It’s a battle with them; it’s a battle with all kids ? I haven’t said the right words yet,? Fife said.
The sentiments of their coach were echoed by Clarkston players after the victory.
‘We’re going to get everybody’s best shot. They made shots against us tonight they don’t make against Mott,? senior Joe Rademacher said.
Rademacher’s hustle on both ends helped pull the Wolves from their early-game funk. He scored 18 points, shooting 6/7 from the field and 2/3 from 3-point land, grabbed six rebounds and recorded four steals.
‘He (Rademacher) does a lot of things for us,? Fife said.
The true measure of Rademacher’s importance to the Wolves did not show up in his stat line though, as he was at his best when the team was at its worst.
During a first quarter in which the Wolves shot 5/15 from the field, Rademacher was 3/3 for seven points. He also nabbed a steal to start a 6-0 run, which ended with a layup by Rademacher to tie the score 13-13 with less then a second left in the first.
Later in the contest, Rademacher emotionally galvanized the Wolves as he absorbed a flagrant foul but calmly stroked the resulting free throws. On the possession directly following the flagrant foul, junior Dan Owens stroked a 3-pointer to give Clarkston a 42-27 lead with 2:43 left in the game.
Coming off the bench early and often for the Wolves, Owens poured in a game-high 19 points, hitting three 3-pointers along the way, including a buzzer beater to end the third which put Clarkston up 50-34.
‘Eventually we got our groove,? Rademacher said.
Even as Clarkston’s offense clicked in the second half, the Captains? sputtered.
‘We just couldn’t set anything up on offense. I give credit to their (Clarkston’s) defense in the second half,? Kettering Coach Brian Tass said.
Clarkston held their ground in the fourth quarter, out scoring Kettering 17-15 to move on to the next round of districts.
As Kettering tried in vain to claw back into the game in the fourth quarter, Clarkston sophomore Oliver Kupe put his mark on the game. The spritely Kupe, scored all but two of his nine points and grabbed three of his four rebounds in the fourth.
‘Rademacher and (Kupe) did things out there you just can’t coach,? Fife said.
Clarkston hopes to have the bugs worked out of their system by the time they take on Lapeer East on March 8 at 5:30 p.m. in the Lake Orion gym.
Lake Orion, the district host, beat Waterford Mott 71-39 in the other opening round game. The Dragons advance to play Oxford on March 8 at 7:30.
The district final is scheduled for March 10 at 7 p.m. Should Clarkston and Lake Orion face one another in the final, the gym will undoubtedly sell out.
Clarkston did enjoy a pleasant end to the regular season as the Wolves dispatched Avondale 73-42 on Feb. 28 and Southfield 70-54 on March 3.
Senior Joe Moran had the hot hand in both games, scoring 20 against Avondale and 24 against Southfield. Both scoring totals were game highs.
Clarkston finished the regular season with a record of 16-4 (8-4).