Senior guard Nick Tatu was on a shooting streak against Troy on Feb. 7, scoring a new personal record of 47 points.
Out of his shooting, he scored 12 three-pointers, breaking the school record.
“It was outstanding,” said Dan Fife, Clarkston Boys Varsity Basketball head coach. “He had to work a lot harder for his 47 points then James Young (from Troy, scoring 49 points during the same game.)”
Though Tatu was also close to breaking school history for points in a single game, the Wolves lost the game 79-74.
“Troy was a sight to behold,” said Fife. “We were taken to task. We just didn’t play well in the game from top to bottom. Young played good against us. They deserved to win. They outplayed us and we just struggled. It was a tough loss.”
Troy led by four points at the end of the first quarter but the Wolves outscored them to bring the game to a 30-30 tie before halftime.
The Colts came back to outshoot the next 16 minutes to put the game to an end with a 5-point lead.
“It was a test and we failed,” Fife added. “It should help through the season. It is a good game I can remind them of. It won’t leave my mind.”
Senior Mitch Baenziger added 15 points to the board.
The Wolves bounced back to beat North Farmington in an OAA Red match last Thursday, 64-44.
“It was a big win for us,” Fife said, adding seniors Matt Dellinger and Zach Collins weren’t playing in the game due to injuries. “Everyone else came out and played really well. We played really well defensively against North Farmington. I was proud of the way they responded to the negative with a positive.” ”
Stepping in, junior Dylan Hancook started and senior Alan Kamieniecki made another appearance after spending most of the season injured.
“He is starting to get in shape so he could play a lot,” Fife added.
The boys outscored the Raiders during the second quarter 19-9 to take the lead and continued on the momentum to end the game with a win.
“Athletics is always how you deal with negatives so after the game I don’t know how the team is going to respond and react,” said Fife. “You don’t think that of a Clarkston kid but you don’t know. The two games they were beat in we just weren’t there mentally as we needed to be.”
Tatu led the team with 19 points and scored five 3-pointers. Junior Jordan Dasuqi added 17 points to the score and Baenziger had seven points.
“Motivation comes within,” Fife added. “We can’t keep complaining to them to play all the time. It was left up to them.”
The boys played Tuesday against Pontiac.
“Pontiac is always a challenge,” Fife added. “It should be an exciting game. Being home is always helpful.”
The JV team were undefeated for the week, beating Troy 53-47 and North Farmington 50-25.
They are back on the court next Tuesday when they head to Rochester Adams. JV begins at 5:30 p.m., varsity follows.