Sporting an 0-2 record coming into their first league action of the year, Clarkston needed a win against Rochester on Sept. 8. In the end, the Wolves got a 47-38 victory, but not without some warts along the way.
‘It’s good for us to get the win. After last week, we tried to stay positive. We knew we were doing the right thing and we just had to execute and knock down some shots,? said Wasilk.
Wasilk’s road map to victory proved hard to follow in the first half as Rochester’s full court press and trap led to 12 turnovers, six in each of the opening quarters. Clarkston also did not shoot the ball well, shooting 26 percent as a team in the first half.
But, due to the Wolves? stingy defense and Rochester’s own sloppy ball handling, Clarkston entered the locker room with a 17-15 lead.
?(Wasilk) has them prepared and they took advantage of us being young and not being there yet,? said Rochester Coach Jeff Haney
Coming out of the half, the Wolves found their shooting touch, shooting 45 percent as team in the third quarter and jumped to a 31-22 lead. Clarkston’s hot shooting to start the half featured three three-pointers, two courtesy of sophomore Chelsea Kouri, who had a game high 17 points, finishing 6/13 from the field with five three-pointers.
‘My first couple games I hadn’t been shooting well. (Wasilk) said to believe in myself and if I was open, to shoot it,? said Kouri.
With both the Wolves and Falcons turning the ball over, Clarkston supplemented their lost possessions with strong offensive rebounding.
‘We were really hitting the boards on both ends. Any time you can get an offensive rebound and get another possession, you are in pretty good shape,? said Wasilk.
Clarkston out rebounded Rochester 38-25 in the contest, with 17 boards on the offensive end.
Wasilk was happy with the way his team adjusted to the tenacious defense in the second half.
‘Rochester did a nice job defensively. They created a lot of those turnovers in the first half. We handled the pressure better in the second half. We adjusted to it, got the ball in the middle of the floor, We spread ourselves out, we relaxed and knocked down some jumpers,? Wasilk said.
While at one point in the fourth quarter Rochester cut the Clarkston lead to six, Clarkston persevered down the stretch to seal the victory.
Clarkston’s game against Stevenson on Sept. 13 finished too late for this edition of The Clarkston News.
The Wolves next action is at Waterford Kettering on Sept. 15 followed by a home tilt with Southfield High School on Sept. 20.
Clarkston’s record is now 1-2 (1-0).