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Fenton snaps Clarkston’s district streak at 19 straight titles, 47 consecutive district wins

Dan Stickradt | March 10, 2012 | Comments (8)

BY DAN STICKRADT

SENIOR EDITOR

dan.stickradt@northoaklandsports.com

Twitter: @LocalSportsFans

SWARTZ CREEK — In 1993, Clarkston lost in a boys basketball Class A district semifinal to Romeo, 67-52.

At the time, the result didn’t seem to add up to much.

The Wolves went on to post one of the longest streaks in the state of Michigan by winning district crowns in 19 straight years following the district setback in 1993.

That impressive streak finally came to a crashing halt Friday night at Swartz Creek High School, as the fifth-ranked Wolves were stunned by Fenton, 68-66, in double overtime in a district final.

The Tigers, enjoying perhaps their best season in decades and posted perhaps one of their biggest wins in program history, took down a Clarkston program that had won district titles in 22 of the past 23 years and had been to the state quarterfinals nine times in 18 years, including the state semifinals in 2009.

Clarkston had also won district titles in 24 of the past 30 seasons. Additionally, the Wolves had won eye-popping 47 straight district games from 1994 through this week, and have held an impressive streak over Fenton and its Flint Metro League comrades.

Clarkston was 20-0 against Flint Metro League teams in the district round from 1994 through Wednesday’s 73-19 thumping of FML runner-up Holly.

Fenton became the first FML school to ever beat Clarkston in a district game. Since the inception of the FML in 1969, Clarkston had knocked out a FML league member and astounding 28 times in the district round.

Eric Readman hit the shot that was heard around Michigan, as the senior guard corralled the inbounds pass and drilled a three-pointer at the buzzer to lift the underrated Tigers stunned Clarkston to end their long-standing streak.

Cory Cox scored 21 points for Fenton (22-1), which advances to Monday’s Midland Dow regional to face another perennial powerhouse in Saginaw, the top-ranked team in Class A in the Associated Press polls.

Readman finished the game with 14 points. Ryan Hickoff added 15 points and Dylan Hickoff scored 13 to help Fenton’s cause.

Fenton had not won a postseason game since 2001, topping Durand in a Class B opener that year in a district opener before heading into a decade-long tailspin.

The Tigers had not even played in a district final since 1998, which was part of a three-year span where they lost in the district finals. Fenton had not won a district title since 1990, a year the Tigers advanced to the regional finals in Class B before falling to Flint Beecher.

Fenton won eight districts in between 1981-1990 and even made a run to the state quarterfinals in back in 1984, but had not enjoyed much recent tournament success until Friday’s stunning effort.

The game featured several ties and lead changes. The Wolves led 20-18 after the first quarter, with Fenton holding a 13-12 edge in the second quarter to close the gap to 32-31 at the half.

Fenton went on a 14-12 surge in the third quarter to grab a 45-44 advantage heading into the fourth quarter. Clarkston answered with a 12-11 fourth stanza to tie the game at 56-56 at the end of regulation.

The two teams were tied at 64-64 after the end of the first overtime session, before the Tigers held a 4-2 edge in the second overtime to pull the upset.

Mitch Baenziger scored 21 points and Jordan Dasuqi added 19 points for Clarkston (20-3). Nick Tatu tossed in 17 points for the Wolves, who sent just five players into the scoring column.

Clarkston defeated Fenton, 68-42, in last year’s district opener.

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Tags: Basketball, boys basketball, Clarkston Boys Basketball, Fenton Boys Basketball, FML Boys Basketball, high school boys basketball, MHSAA Boys Basketball Districts, OAA Boys Basketball, prep boys basketball