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Arthur Hill found themselves in a hole early, down 22-13 after 1 quarter.  Chris Webb nailed two straight threes to cut the lead down to 3 to start the 2nd quarter.  The baskets set off a flurry of activity that saw both teams battle back and forth for momentum.  Down 5, 30-25, late in the 2nd quarter, Maurice Jones-Cooper grabbed an offensive rebound and put home a layup in the midst of three defenders, all standing at least 6 inches over 'Pookie'.  Down just three, the Jacks got the ball pack and pushed it up the floor to Latreze Mushatt who put home the short leaner and was fouled in the process, setting up the opportunity to tie the game.  The refs had a conference afterwards, as Mushatt stood at the line.  They overturned the call and took away the basket.  Arthur Hill stood strong on defense again.  Mushatt took it strong to the hoop and made the basket but was called for yet another charge.  The Jacks just weren't the same for the rest of the half after the two calls.  To add salt to the wounds, Clarkston's Brandon Pokley nailed a three ball on the other end, turning it back into a 6 point lead.  Tom Staton pushed it to 8 points after another Wolves basket.  The Wolves regained momentum with their mini run and went into the lockers up 37-30 at the break.

Things went from bad to worse for Arthur Hill to start the 2nd half.  Clarkston's sensational Sophomore, Matt Kamieniecki scored and was fouled, just seconds into the half.  Kamieniecki hit the free throw, pushing the lead to 10.  The lead blossomed to 12 on another Staton make with 7:09 to play in the third.  The Jacks gathered themselves and put together an 8-2 run to shorten the lead to 6.  Like most of the game, just as Arthur Hill had gotten close, the Wolves answered.  Staton answered the run with a three and Kamieniecki followed with a basket, pushing the lead back up to 11 at 49-38 past the halfway point in the quarter.  The Jacks then made their run, cutting it down to four points at 51-47 after a Tyrie Wooten three point play.  Wooten had 8 points on his team's 17-9 run.  Arthur Hill got themselves back into the game with defensive intensity along with outstanding board work on the defensive and especially offensive sides of the ball.  The boomerang came back to Clarkston's side however as a technical foul on Arthur Hill turned the tide again.  Every time the Lumberjacks would come within a handful of points, they would lose momentum on the whistle or by Clarkston answers from the field.  This time however, the Jacks stayed in stride, despite falling behind by 5 on a Pokley basket to end the third at 55-50.

In the fourth, the state's #1 team cranked it up a notch on both sides of the ball.  The two teams traded blows throughout the quarter and with just over 3 minutes to play in the game, a Wooten basket brought the Jacks to within 3 at 64-61.  The Lumberjack defense caused another turnover but the ball was sent racing onto the other end of the court.  Both Cooper-Jones and Wooten came from nowhere to out hustle the Wolves to the ball.   Wooten dove to the ground to retrieve the ball and once gaining possession, flipped it to an open Mushatt under the rim for an easy dunk, all while on his back with 2:55 to go.  A few moments later, Mushatt sank 1 out of 2 from the line on consecutive trips to the put the Jacks up 65-64.  Down on the other end, Kamieniecki posted up and put home a nice bank shot off of the glass to put the Wolves up by 1 with just 59 seconds to go.  With 47 seconds to go, Omari Humes put the Jacks back up on top by 1 with an offensive rebound and putback.  Clarkston broke the press and found a wide open Pokley streaking down the lane.  Just as Pokley was about to lay the ball in for the lead, Arthur Hill's MIke Schaaf came out of nowhere and swatted the ball away from the backside.  His swat played perfectly into the hands of Jones-Cooper who picked up the dribble and was fouled.  The upcoming sequence of events proved to be frantic and forgettable for Clarkston.  Pookie missed both free throws but Mushatt grabbed the offensive board and put home the basket.  Arthur Hill then proceeded to steal the ball twice, once by Pookie, who then scored, the 2nd by Humes, who swiped the ball and flipped to Mushatt for a exclamation point jam.  Down 73-66, the Wolves had several shots on their final trip down the floor but none of them fell, keeping it final at the 7 point margin.

For Clarkston, it was just another one that got away vs. a team from the Saginaw/Flint area.  They controlled the lead for most of the game but just couldn't put the game away.  They missed several open layups but the credit must go to the pressing Lumberjack defense who created numerous turnovers and made their own luck when the chips were down.  2nd and third chance points by Arthur Hill also played a huge factor.  With the win, the Jacks get another notch on the belt against top 10 teams this year.  Both teams are loaded with youth but it was the Senior leadership by Mushatt and Wooten that glued the team together.  They are going to need more of that glue come Thursday night as they host Saginaw HIgh, a team that they defeated just two weeks earlier, 63-56.  Once Clarkston ties up a few loose ends in game-time situations, this team is going to be a force to be reckoned with.  This may not be there year but the future, near and far is bright. 

Clarkston's Pokley scored a game high 22, with Kamieniecki scoring 21 and Staton with 13.

Wooten led Arthur Hill with 19, Mushatt scored 18 and Jones-Cooper had 13.  Mushatt took home the MVP trophy for the MLK Classic hosted by Pontiac Northern. 

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Down 34-33, late in the game, Vondette cut in front of an Ithaca player, 'jumping the route' and intercepting the ball.  Seeing Brandon Fiting streak down the court, Vondette threw him the touchdown pass, that Fiting put home for a fast break layup, putting Hemlock up 35-34.  Cory Radak tied the game by going one for two at the line on the other side of the floor.  This came after Vondette went 1 for 2 at the line and just the trip before, missed the front end of a 1 and 1.  Sweet Redemption at the line was just around the corner. 

Vondette got his 2nd chance as he was fouled driving towards the basket.  This time Vondette calmly sank both free throws with 26 seconds remaining, giving Hemlock a 37-35 lead.  Ithaca then rushed the ball up the court and too a timeout with 16 seconds left, to draw up a play.  With fouls to give, Hemlock committed a foul with 11 seconds to go.  Ithaca was put in a jam because of where the foul occurred.  The Yellow Jackets had to inbound it from their own baseline.  Vondette, who was assigned to hound the player inbounding the ball stole it out of mid-air and was immediately fouled.  He sank the next two shots, just as easily as the last two.  Down by 4 and with only 11 seconds to go, the Jackets moved the ball up the court quickly but failed to find an open shooter behind the arch.  Instead they found Radak open under the basket, who flushed home a power jam.  Problem is, they were still down by two and time ran out before Ithaca even had a chance to foul and prolong the game.  The Ithaca faithful enjoyed the dunk as did the players as did Radak's teammates but it was the hometown Huskies that walked off the floor with a W.  A hard fought win between two excellent teams that both had the will to win but like in any other game, only 1 could.

The 1st and 2nd halves complimented each other in the defensive struggle.  Hemlock held control for most of the 1st half while Ithaca turned the tables in the third and early fourth quarters.  Only 1 bucket separated the two teams at halftime as they scored a combined 34 points.  Christian Marble and Creed Stapleton scored back to back baskets to trim the lead to 18-16.

The third quarter was a quarter to forget as Hemlock scored only 6 points and saw their lead turn into a 4 point deficit at the end of the quarter.   Jarred Cline had 6 points to go along with Stapleton's 4, which accounted for 10 of their 12, third quarter points.  As of the 2:52 mark in the third, Hemlock only had 1 basket.

While the Huskies only managed four field goals in the fourth quarter, they added 7 free throws, 5 by Vondette.  The final quarter was an epic battle that saw both teams go blow for blow.  When one team scored, the other would answer but when it came right down to it, it was the pick pocket by Vondette that altered the game and gave Hemlock, in a sense, an extra possession without having to face a Yellow Jacket shot attempt.  Radak and Marble scored all of Ithaca's 9 final quarter points, while Vondette and Ryan Root powered the Huskies.  Radak finished with 11 while Stapleton led the Jackets with 12.  Cline added 8 points.  For the Huskies, Root had 10 to go along with Vondette's 16.  Sophomore, Emerson Putnam had 6 points for the Huskies. 

With the win, Hemlock gets their 10th win against 1 loss, while Ithaca still holds an impressive 8-2 record.  Hemlock moves on to a battle against the Tri-Valley East on Tuesday, Ithaca will face intra-conference foe, Michigan Lutheran Seminary on the road.