Ben Etzell (34) plans out his next series of bruises. “So then I’ll bounce off the back wall, do a reverse 360 into the first row of the stands, while hitting a fade away jumper!!” (Shelli Trumbull photo)
Ben Etzell scored a point for every bruise on his body Thursday.
The scrappy Coupeville High School junior added to his rainbow-hued collection of bumps, shiners, floor burns and black eyes in Friday Harbor, but recovered long enough to torch his hosts for a season-high 11 points.
A cold second half (just six points as a team after exiting the locker room) doomed Etzell and his teammates, however, as they fell 68-27 in a non-conference game.
The loss dropped the Wolves to 0-8 heading into their final game before a ten-day Christmas break — a home game Saturday at 3:30 PM against Orcas Island.
Etzell, who missed the first few games while getting in enough practices to be eligible, had scored just two points coming off the bench for Coupeville.
The baseball stud, world-famous for ripping up his thighs by sliding across a cement court face-first while playing tennis in the spring, had been most notable for the way he sacrificed his body in pursuit of loose balls and rebounds.
“I think my boy thinks every surface is a place for him to practice sliding into base!,” said mom Kristi Etzell. “My word, he had some raspberries on his elbows and knees AGAIN!”
The trio of Nick Streubel, Caleb Valko and Aaron Trumbull backed Etzell up Thursday, as each hit for four apiece. Josh Wilsey and Drew Chan both drained a bucket for Coupeville, as well.
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