Things have changed since their last meeting, but Pontiac Northern’s 75-67 win at home over Clarkston will likely hold league title implications.
The Wolves and the Huskies both enter Tuesday’s matchup at 6-1, the Wolves? only loss to Northern and the Huskies? only loss to West Bloomfield. The Lakers were in the middle of a three-way battle for tops in the Oakland Activities Association before dropping to 4-4 in the league.
Clarkston coach Dan Fife refused to look ahead of the two opponents before Clarkston’s rematch with the Huskies, Troy and Southfield Lathrup.
‘Troy is coming in here with everything to gain. They were here to scout us,? Fife said after the Wolves beat North Farmington last week.
‘There are a lot of things that can happen in a week. A kid can turn an ankle, good, bad or different. We’re never good enough to look past anybody. Your mental approach and having the kids focused on the next game and not the games down the road.
In a lot of ways, we’re a lot better than we were early on in the season. We can’t let them off, we need to keep getting better and understanding why we’re making mistakes and getting on them still. It’s a 20-game season, we have five left and the next one is Troy.?
In the early season match, the Huskies went to their back court press, turning the heat up on Clarkston successfully, climbing out of a nine-point hole in the fourth quarter.
‘They’re a heck of a team, so it’s going to be a great game and we’re going to have to come out and play. For sure it will be a game to come watch and we’re going to have to give them everything we’ve got,? Clarkston center Bren Bergquist said.
‘We can’t let up. When they turned up the heat at the end of the game, we didn’t really respond. They really took it to us and put us away when we should have had them in the fourth quarter. We’ve got to just keep taking it to them and we have to stop their little runs.?
Fife said ball control will be a key to success against everyone.
‘We’ve made some mistakes and our kids have got to get better,? Fife said.