Michigan falls to Baylor in overtime
OXFORD >> The goal for any basketball team this time of year is to be peaking.
On Saturday, the Clarkston boys basketball team showed some of the best play it has had all season, and that led it to another Division 1 district championship.
Leading Rochester Adams 1110 early in the second quarter, the Wolves would go on to dominate the next 18 minutes of play, outscoring the Highlanders 48-14 to run away with the game and ultimately earn a 67-31 victory.
“I don’t know where that offense
Online: For more photos from this event and more high school sports coverage, go to: came from. We haven’t scored like that all year,” Clarkston coach Tim Wasilk said. “It was like a different team for us (Saturday) on offense. We were really clicking on all cylinders. Defensively, I knew we would probably be okay because we have been pretty good and pretty consistent all year with that. I told the guys that when we are like that on offense, we go from a good team to a great team.”’
The Wolves had plenty of motivation heading into Saturday’s title game.
After getting eliminated in the district opener by Adams in 2019, Clarkston was hoping for a deep postseason run in 2020. However, the pandemic forced the postseason to end before Clarkston could compete for the district championship.
Saturday, the Wolves reclaimed the title they held in 30 of 36 seasons under previous coach Dan Fife.
“I think our kids wanted it. We had a tough ending to the season last year. We felt like we could have made a run, and I think that kind of played into moving
forward this year,” Wasilk said. “They weren’t going to let themselves lose (Saturday). The guys were just mentally ready to play.”
The first quarter of Saturday’s final was an offensive struggle, with Adams holding a slim lead through most of the frame.
The Highlanders attempted to hold for a last shot leading 6-5, but the Wolves forced a turnover and Isayah Harris converted a layup to give the Wolves a 7-6 advantage.
In the second, Clarkston established the first scoring run, as Harris knocked down a 3-pointer to start an 8-0 run to put the Wolves up 19-10. Adams was never able to answer.
“(Clarkston) did rhythm, and our find a inability
to secure rebounds and get stops really catapulted that,” Adams coach Jaret Thomas said. “The way (Clarkston) executes and the way they hit shots (Saturday), they deserved to win.”
Nathan Steinman knocked down a 3-pointer with 1 second to play before halftime, giving Clarkston a 26-17 advantage at the break. The Wolves then scored the first eight points of the third, including another 3-pointer from Steinman.
Clarkston would knock down a total of eight 3-pointers as a team, with Steinman leading the way with four and a game-high 18 points.
Keegan Wasilk added 17 points and six assists for Clarkston, while Harris finished with 12 points. Luke Scherler had six points with seven rebounds.
Clarkston was playing
its first game without junior forward Mike DePillo, who suffered a knee injury in Thursday’s district semifinal.
“Definitely losing Mike is big. He’s been so huge for us this year,” Coach Wasilk said of DePillo. “Our guys were down and he was down, but we just talked about ‘next man up.’ Guys have to step up and be ready to play. That’s what they did (Saturday).”
Adams was led in the game by Jon Ursuy, who had 14 points. Justice Mims added eight, while Ben Chermside scored seven.
The Highlanders close out their season at 11-5, but will return all but two from this season’s roster next winter.
“This is definitely not our best outing, but these kids have been through so much this season and have really given me their all,” Thomas said. “The kids did
everything I asked of them this season. We have quite a bit coming back, but we still have a lot of work to do to be the type of program we want to be. We have the talent, but we need to work hard in the offseason and build on what we were able to do this season.”
Clarkston advances to Tuesday’s Division 1 regional semifinal at Lakeland High School. The Wolves will take on topranked and unbeaten Orchard Lake St. Mary’s.
“It’s about us and getting ourselves ready to play,” Tim Wasilk said of facing St. Mary’s. “We are just coming out to compete and play like we always play. We can’t worry about our opponents. When we worry about our opponents, that’s when we don’t play like we should be playing.”
Tuesday’s game will tip at 7 p.m.