Coupeville Sports

Carson Risner (44) worked off some pent-up energy, nearly fouling out in just a quarter of play. (Shelli Trumbull photo)

Carson Risner was on a mission.

Bouncing back after missing several games due to illness, the Coupeville High School sophomore played one quarter of the boys’ JV basketball game Friday night, to get his feet back under him before the main event.

Cue the screams from the visiting Archbishop Thomas Murphy players, as Risner revived memories of his mom, former Wolf Athlete of the Year Jennie (Cross) Prince, aka “Elbows.”

Moving with purpose and a lot of built-up energy, the football lineman plowed through the paint, pumping in two rim-shaking buckets and picking up four fouls in a little under six minutes in the second quarter.

“Sounds about right!,” said his mom as she laughed. “I had to make a conscious effort not to foul out by the half, every game.

“Coach wanted him to knock the rust off before the varsity game. Sounds like he tried.”

Risner’s rumblin’ and an inspired first quarter, when a quick Wolf unit led by Joel Walstad, Wiley Hesselgrave and Dalton Martin, blistered ATM with quick passes and quick cuts, were the highlight of the evening.

“They were moving!,” said Wolf JV coach Dustin Van Velkinburgh. “That’s what we want to see, what we need to see. We’re getting there.”

Trouble with breaking a relentless press (ATM, always keepin’ it classy, continued to use a full-court press up by 40 and re-inserted a six-foot-five player with less than a minute to play) busted any momentum the Wolves had, though, and Coupeville eventually fell 73-33.

The first quarter was a fight, however, as the Wolves went right at the visiting Wildcats and made them blink for a bit.

Whipping the ball faster than normal and looking to explode to the basket, Coupeville went on a 12-5 tear to close the quarter with a five-point lead.

Martin banged in six in the period, nailing a long three-pointer, converting a breakaway and sliding a free-throw through the net. Hesselgrave and Josiah Campbell each popped for four, with Campbell leaving his defender flat-footed, taking an inbound pass and blowing by him, while Walstad dropped in a turn-around jumper to kick things off.

With a different unit on the floor in the second quarter, Coupeville had considerably more trouble with the very-fast, very-aggressive style of play ATM prefers. Still, Risner retied the score at 18 on his first bucket, and pulled the Wolves back to within 25-21 on his second.

After that, things fell apart, as 11-0 and 27-2 ATM runs, fueled by frequent steals off of their press, sealed the deal.

With a number of varsity players unable to play with injuries and illness, the Wolves had to limit how much Hesselgrave and Walstad could play, since they were needed in the second game. Morgan Payne, who had been a steadying influence in the past, skipped the JV game entirely as he started in the varsity game, while Anthony Bergeron, who swings between varsity and JV, was home sick.

In the time he was on the floor, Hesselgrave went for a team-high 10, while Martin swished eight. Walstad and Campbell hit for five apiece, Risner dropped in four and Jared Helmstadter chipped in with a free-throw.