The factors for a Rochester Adams upset of Clarkston were all there on Dec. 17.
n Favored team (Clarkston) coming in off a big emotional blowout win? Check.
n Early hot shooting by underdog home team subsequently lighting a fire under home fans? Check.
n Cold shooting by aforementioned favored team? Check.
As far as intangibles went, the Highlanders had a lot going for them, but in the end two technical fouls and Clarkston’s steely reserve carried the day for the Wolves 43-40.
With 4:44 left in the third quarter and the game knotted 27-27, Clarkston snatched the lead on a controversial technical foul which sent senior guard Brad Goodman to the charity stripe. He canned both free throws giving the Wolves a 29-27 lead.
Seconds later Goodman once again found himself alone at the line, due to a second technical foul called on Adams, and once again he calmly knocked both shots down.
Those technical fouls changed the game,? said Clarkston Coach Dan Fife. ‘We dodged a bullet… Our kids kept their composure.?
The technical foul shots bookended a three from junior guard John Kast, all of which was part of a 17-2 third quarter run by the Wolves.
‘All the situations that happened (during the run) we just did not handle well. We recovered but just not in time,? said Rochester Adams Coach John Hall.
Early on in the game though the Highlanders had the Wolves on their heels, but thanks to senior guard Robbie Clark, Clarkston was able to weather the storm.
Clark scored nine of Clarkston’s 11 points in the first quarter. He kept the Wolves in the game as Highlanders senior guards Herbie Kipke and John Wilson sank jumper after jumper early on, sending the raucous, yet well behaved, Adams? student section into an uproar.
?(Adams) came out with such emotion we just could not offset it,? said Clark, who finished with a game high 20 points.
Kipke, who finished with 17 points, and the Highlanders continued to shoot the ball well and at the half Clarkston was down 25-19.
Surprisingly in the first half, Clarkston did not convert on a single jump shot, finding all of their points in the paint.
‘We were making (Clarkston) work for everything, so they were not as open as they were accustomed to,? said Hall.
After Clarkston went on their massive third quarter run Adams heated up again in the third, but the Wolves were able to overcome the Highlanders mad rush with some timely shooting and defense.
Kipke cut the Clarkston lead to two with 6:20 left in the fourth with his fourth three pointer of the night. His fifth three rattled home later, with 1:05 left, making the score 41-40.
‘I give their kids credit,? said Fife. ‘They fought back.?
With time ticking away, Adams was forced to foul Goodman who calmly sank two free throws to give the Wolves their final margin of victory, 43-40.
Sophomore Bren Bergquist was a monster on the boards for the Wolves grabbing 10 rebounds, five of them on the offensive glass and blocking two shots. One of his rejections came on a three point try by Kipke with 2:58 left in the game.
Goodman finished with 13 points, all of which came in the second half, and Kast tallied eight points.
Clarkston thumped Flint Carmen Ainsworth, the team which has ousted the Wolves the past two years from the State tournament, 71-38 on Dec. 15.
According to Coach Fife, Carmen Ainsworth was playing without its two best players.
Clarkston (3-0) plays next on Dec. 23 at Flint Central after which the Wolves will be on a layoff until Rochester High comes to the CHS gym on Jan. 4. Clarkston, having already beaten Flint Northern and Carmen Ainsworth is looking for their third win against a team from Flint.