Flint - After an 8 point first quarter, you just had the feeling it was going to be one of those nights.  For Carman-Ainsworth, a night that they will want to forget and start thinking about the Big Nine showdown on Friday with Powers.   The Cavaliers were actually outscored by Clarkston's star 6'4" Senior, Dan Owens who had 10 points in the opening quarter and finished with 28, including 5 makes from beyond the arc. 

The Cavs were having all sorts of trouble with the Wolves but it was themselves that were their own worst enemy early on.  Carman-Ainsworth could not buy a bucket inside, most of the shots from point blank range.  When the first quarter had ended with CA down 18-8, they must have missed at least a dozen shots from within 5 feet of the basket.  The Cavs did a great job early of not settling for the jumper but it was a tight rim tonight.  Clarkston didn't help the cause, they were playing a physical game and their hustle played a huge factor, with many of their points coming on 2nd chances and turnovers.  It seemed like every time CA had missed a basket on the other end, Clarkston was coming right back with a break, sometimes with a 2 to 3 man advantage coming the other way.  Part of it was hustle by the Wolves, the other part was that the Cavs were getting caught down low going for the offensive board and not getting back in time to prevent the fast break buckets. 

With all that had gone wrong for the Cavs, they were still only down 10 with a few seconds left before halftime.  Then game the shot to the gut.  The Wolves big man Bren Bergquist took the ball across the timeline and fired it up from behind pro-3 point range and banked it off the glass and good for 3.  A few ticks later the clock had expired on the first half.  Still 13 points was not as bad as it could have been at 39-26.

In order for CA to get back in this one, they were going to have to start hitting some shots and Clarkston's 1st half intensity and play would have to regress a little.  Either aspect did not play out well for CA.  Clarkston scored the first 7 points of the 2nd half and extended the lead to 20.  The Cavs then answered with 4 points of their own, but it was at this point where the mini-run and the game for all intensive purposes went on a downward spiral for good.  16 Points is as close as they would get until just over a minute remaining in the final quarter.  Right after the Cavs had shaved the lead to 16, Clarkston's Kevin Badgley went for 2 points and the foul, which he converted on.  After 3, the Wolves had distanced themselves by 21 points. 

The Wolves pushed the lead to as high as 26 in the fourth quarter and then went to the bench to put it away and get the guys valuable playing time in the process.  CA also went to the bench and actually found a spark with the reinforcements.  They brought some energy to the game and chipped away at the lead until they had come within 14 points on a Lau'ren Jones bucket.  The bucket was the final score of the game however as time had run out on the Cavs. 

I was not surprised at how well the Wolves played but was surprised at how well they played against a quality team like CA.  Clarkston had proved their high state ranking on this night.  The Cavs on the other hand, have to head back to the drawing board.  The talent is there but the execution fell really short tonight.  The shots weren't going down and ball handling had a rough night.  Don't expect to see too many nights like this from the Cavs.  They are one of the area's best programs and have a good coaching staff, led by head coach, Rory Mattar.  Things don't get a whole lot easier though.  The Big Nine opener is just a few days away and that opener is with another conference favorite, Powers.  The Chargers beat Flint N.W. in the opener and took care of Flint Northern rather easily tonight.  The winner will get off to a good start towards the Big Nine title, however since it is so early in the season, the loser will have plenty of time to make up their first conference loss.