Coupeville Sports

   Hunter Smith, seen here last year, went for a team-high 12 Monday at Meridian. (John Fisken photo)

For one half they were as good as they’ve ever been.

Putting together an absolutely stellar 16 minutes of ball Monday night at Meridian, the Coupeville High School boys’ basketball team carried an 11-point lead into the halftime locker room.

Unfortunately, as hot as things were in the first half, they went cold in the second, as a string of missed Wolf shots allowed the much-bigger hosts to scramble back for a 51-41 non-conference victory on opening night.

The Wolves will have a day to rest and sharpen their skill-set before they welcome Island foe South Whidbey to town Wednesday in their home opener.

Tip-off is 5:15 PM, with a Wolf/Falcon girls game to follow at 7.

If Coupeville wants to stun their arch-rivals, they’ll need to channel some of that first-half excitement.

“We played the best half of basketball in the first half that has been played under Coach (Anthony) Smith,” said Wolf assistant coach Dustin Van Velkinburgh. “We played inspired, hard-nosed, good basketball.”

After going toe-to-toe with the Trojans in the first quarter — Meridian clung to a 14-13 lead at the first break — Coupeville drilled their hosts 16-4 in the second.

The third quarter, which was the Wolves Achilles heel last year, was a different story, however.

“We missed some easy shots and they used their height to their advantage,” Van Velkinburgh said.

The Trojans jumped all over Coupeville to the tune of 22-5 in the third, before salting things away with an 11-7 mini-run in the fourth.

Despite the loss, the Wolves came away with a number of positives, led off by a balanced scoring attack.

Sophomore Hunter Smith, making his first varsity start, went for a team-high 12, hitting a pair of three-point bombs, and made off with two steals.

Seniors Wiley Hesselgrave and Risen Johnson each knocked down 11, while DeAndre Mitchell (3), Ryan Griggs (2) and Gabe Wynn (2) rounded out the scorers.

Griggs hauled down five boards and rejected three Meridian shots, Johnson had three rebounds and two steals and Dante Mitchell and Wynn added three rebounds apiece.

Jared Helmstadter and Jordan Ford also saw floor time, with Ford following in the footsteps of dad David by making his first start as a Wolf hoops player.

The JV game was cancelled because Coupeville couldn’t field enough players due to injuries and players who haven’t had enough practices to be eligible. The Wolves expect to play a JV game Wednesday.