Wolf frosh Gabe Wynn hit a three-point bomb Tuesday for his first varsity points. (John Fisken photo)
Confident and ready to run and rumble with a high-energy, unbeaten Cedarcrest squad, the Coupeville High School boys’ basketball team looked inspired for the first two minutes of Tuesday night’s home opener.
Much of the other 30 minutes? Not quite as inspiring.
A second-quarter meltdown did much of the damage, as a close game after eight minutes became a blowout by halftime.
Unable to convert a field goal for nearly two quarters at one stretch, the Wolves hit the skids after their bold start, watching as a 6-0 lead turned into a 66-26 loss.
The defeat dropped Coupeville to 0-2 overall, 0-1 in Cascade Conference play.
From the opening tip, the Wolves looked poised, pushing the ball hard and hitting the boards with a passion.
Anthony Bergeron and Nick Streubel converted rebounds into buckets and then Streubel, a 6-foot-3 enforcer, made like a silky-smooth point guard, hitting Morgan Payne with a pinpoint pass as he cut through the lane, allowing his fellow senior to drop the ball through the twine.
Even as Cedarcrest started to rain down deadly three-point bombs — connecting on four of their six treys in the quarter — Coupeville seemed to have an answer.
Junior Joel Walstad netted his own three-pointer from the top of the key, Bergeron went airborne to spike away a Cedarcrest shot and the Wolves closed out the quarter with back-to-back buckets to pull within 18-14.
The final play of the quarter was a beauty, as Wolf guard Wiley Hesselgrave patiently waited out an over-eager ball-handler who was trying to put on a dribbling exhibition.
At just the last second, as the Cedarcrest player broke for the basket, Hesselgrave nimbly picked his pocket and then beat a mad stampede to the other end of the court for a crowd-pleasing layup.
For those who walked away then, it was a great back-and-forth game.
Unfortunately, Cedarcrest, instead of walking away, chose to amp up the pressure and flat-out ran Coupeville off the court. The second eight minutes played out to a miserable 27-3 tune in favor of the visitors, as turnovers plagued the Wolves.
“Their speed was too much for us,” said Coupeville coach Anthony Smith. “We did a lot of things better. We just need to execute for 32 minutes.
“If we can execute for 32 minutes, not for eight or 12, we’ll be right there,” he added. “We’ll be a tough out.”
Going through the entire second quarter, and much of the third, without a field goal, the Wolves trailed 52-19 before breaking the spell. When it finally did break, though, it broke on the single most dazzling play of the night.
Walstad fired a pass cross-court as Bergeron out-leaped two defenders, the ball dropping into the senior’s hands for a brief moment, before he redirected it up and off the backboard for two of his team-high eight points.
Deep into garbage time, the Wolves also got a boost from freshman guard Gabe Wynn, who immediately brought a jolt of energy to the proceedings when he entered play.
Three seconds into action, he ripped a board away from a taller Cedarcrest player, then later lofted a gently tumbling three from the left corner for his first varsity points.
Aaron Trumbull popped for four to back up Bergeron, while Streubel, Wynn, Payne and Walstad each tossed in three. Hesselgrave had a bucket, and Matt Shank, while he was held scoreless, was a beast on the boards.
Bad quarter hurts JV: Different game, same problem, as a 22-0 run in the third quarter doomed the Wolves. Outscored 46-6 in the second half, Coupeville fell 78-24.
Wynn paced the JV squad with 10, while Jared Helmstadter and Dante Mitchell each hit for five. DeAndre Mitchell added a bucket and Grey Rische and Oscar Liquidano both netted a free throw for the Wolves.
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