First Win Fever

Clarkston took home its first win of the year on Wednesday night, beating a good Flint Carmen-Ainsworth squad 55-52. The Wolves' senior captain and number one-offensive option, Matt Kamieniecke (Ball State) led the C-Town attack with 24 points and 12 rebounds. The big fella also knocked down three of the squad's nine triples on the evening. Brand new starting shooting guard, Nick Tatu, came up big for the Wolves, scoring 16 points and knocking down three trifectas himself. Tyler Scarlett was his usual "Rock of Gibralter"-self at the point, quarterbacking the Clarkston offense for nine points and six assists. Two very tough games into the season and the new model-Wolfpack look to be on the upswing once again – just like so many previous C-Town hoop squads of the past. Freshman Jordan Dasuqui is getting/earning minutes at a very young age and might be a future stud in the making.

After watching them play on Tuesday night, I have become a huge fan of the Rochester girl's basketball team. Look for first year head coach Adam Sheldon's bunch of gritty hoopstresses to be sleepers in the OAA this season. On Tuesday, the Lady Falcons swooped in on the competition and with authority grabbed its first win of the year, handily taking down a previously unbeaten Lake Orion team, 47-32. Rochester played great defense and delivered a balanced scoring barrage to lead from start to finish and defeat the visiting Dragons. The Falcons 'D' held Lake Orion's star player, Alexis Haan, to four points. This Rochester squad has veteran leadership and savvy. They also have good amount of depth. Hillary Braun, a member of two Falcons' regional championship squads as a freshman and sophomore, is the team's compass. She can control a game without scoring 20 points and that's an invaluable trait. Against a strong Dragons' defense, Braun went for eight points, seven assists, six rebounds, and five steals. Sheldon's under-the-radar Falcons also bring to the table senior stalwarts like Megan Heiden, a force in the paint, and Ashley Keyes, a cat-quick and extremely-underrated floor general (both integral members of the two regional title-winning squads too), as well as more than-serviceable underclassmen like Kristin Garr and Catie Steffens. Freshman Zhana Randolph could be a rising star.