Sharing can be a tough lesson for kids to learn, but the Clarkston Wolves are getting another shot at it. For the second time in the past three seasons, the Wolves will share the Oakland Activities Association Division I crown with Pontiac Northern. Clarkston earned their share with a 60-53 win at West Bloomfield Friday.
‘It’s good to be back and that’s always one of our goals. Whether we tie or not, I’ll take a tie,? Clarkston coach Dan Fife said.
The win pushed Clarkston to 8-2 in the conference and 17-3 overall. The Lakers (12-8), early-season contenders for the title, fell to 5-5 in the OAA with the loss.
‘There’s a lot of pressure and I thought West Bloomfield played extremely hard, harder than they played at Clarkston. I was extremely proud of our kids not to get caught up with the pressure and competing and to keep pushing the ball,? Fife said.
‘We made good decisions at good times and we defended really well. We kept them shooting from outside, when you keep forcing those, you have a good chance to win.?
The game was a more hotly contested outing as the Lakers had the services of Mike Przydzial. In the team’s first meeting last month at Clarkston, he went down with an ankle injury early in the second quarter. Przydzial helped the Lakers on offense and gave them a presence against Clarkston’s Bren Bergquist, but the game was decided beyond the three-point arc.
Back-to-back three-pointers from Dan Owens with nearly 4:00 left in the game put the Wolves ahead 49-42. The seven-point advantage was the largest for either team at that point of the contest.
Clarkston’s Andy Lyons and Przydzial traded threes near the 2:30 mark.
The 6-foot-7-inch Przydzial scored eight in the quarter and began pulling the trigger on three-pointers after not getting the ball early on.
‘It was little bit of frustration, I wasn’t getting a lot of touches early in the fourth quarter,? Przydzial said.
‘I was feeling it, so once I got the ball, I knew it was time to go for it.?
As the game drew to a close, West Bloomfield’s Josh Eichelberger missed two consecutive three-pointers and Clarkston protected its eight-point lead from the free throw line.
West Bloomfield guard Rod Hurst, who chipped in 11 points in the first meeting, was held to only four points and fouled out midway through the fourth quarter. Przydzial and Eichelberger carried the offensive load, each finishing with 20 points for the Lakers.
Owens would finish with a game-high 28 points, seemingly back to normal after a two-point outing one week earlier at Southfield Lathrup while fighting food poisoning.
‘It’s one of those things where you feel like you have to step up and that’s what I did and helped my team pull it out,? Owens said.
Owens credited Fife’s play calling and screen setting for helping him become the league’s top scorers.
‘It’s always frustrating when (defenders) are all over you the whole game,? he said.
‘The way we run our offense makes it easier to score as much I have been the whole year.?
Bergquist finished with seven points, two rebounds and two blocks for Clarkston. Oliver Kupe, a viable second scoring option for the Wolves, had nine points, two steals, and six rebounds. Lyons scored nine points also.
Julius Porter, who has found a home as the team’s starting point guard as of late, impressed Fife with his court leadership.
‘Tonight was the best (he) has played this season,? Fife said.
‘He played totally under control and ran the show out there and he did a great job of conducting the offense.?
The teams traded the lead back and forth until the final stanza, finishing each of the first three quarters one point apart. Clarkston out-scored the Lakers 23-17 in the fourth quarter.
Fife said the Wolves are getting good play from their bench, which is making a considerable mark on the outcome.
‘It’s important that we’re getting more and more people scoring and more people off the bench are feeling comfortable. Our subs are coming in and doing a good job and not losing ground. We’re maintaining when we sub and that’s important,? Fife said.