Clarkston’s second-half surge bounces Lathrup
BY DAN STICKRADT
SENIOR EDITOR
dan.stickradt@northoaklandsports.com
CLARKSTON — By his standards, Clarkston boys basketball coach Dan Fife felt his team played well below average in the first half Thursday against Southfield Lathrup.
The second half was a different story.
Clarkston outscored visiting Lathrup, 41-24, after halftime and turned in a 71-53 OAA Red Division triumph over the Chargers, and took over sole possession of first place in the league in the process.
“This was a lot closer game than what the final score (indicates),” admitted Fife. “We didn’t play very good basketball in the first half. I’m not even sure how we led at the half. Lathrup switched up some things defensively and made it difficult to run our offense.”
The Wolves took the lead at the half, thanks to a 17-13 second quarter run. Clarkston (10-1, 5-0) closed out the first half with a 5-0 run, including a layup from Dylan Hancock that gave the Wolves a 30-29 lead at the break.
Clarkston turned its one-point lead at the half into a 47-37 advantage after three quarters of play thanks to its 17-8 edge in the third frame. The Wolves closed out with a 24-16 surge in the fourth quarter to help the Wolves pull away with the 18-point decision.
Senior Nick Tatu scored a game-high 24 points to lead three players in double figures for Clarkston. Junior Jordan Dasuqi added 20 points and senior Matt Dellinger scored 12 for the Wolves.
“I liked our effort in the second half. We are not the most gifted team athletically. But when we play running our (offense) and play good defense, that’s how we beat people,” said Fife. “Lathrup is a good team. I think us losing last week against Detroit Community actually helped us. It was good for us to lose a game. It kind of made us refocus some and see where we are actually at. Again, we’re not the greatest team athletically. There are a lot of teams that can beat us if we don’t play well.”
Junior Jonathan Williams, one the state’s top scorers, was held to 22 points to lead Lathrup (10-3, 5-1). Mike Slater added 10 points for the Chargers.
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Category: Clarkston, Featured Articles, High School, High School (M-Z), Prep Wraps
