Coupeville Sports

   JJ Johnson drilled three treys Saturday as Coupeville won a thriller. (John Fisken photos)

   Brian Shank teamed with Ty Eck to score 43 points Saturday, fueling a come-from-behind OT win for the Wolf JV.

The game-winning play from the varsity game. (Photo courtesy Trent Diamanti)

Hunter Smith is a killer.

The Coupeville High School sophomore capped a stellar performance Saturday by drilling a game-winning three-ball from the corner at the buzzer, lifting the Wolves to a 54-53 victory at Klahowya.

The win snapped a two-game losing streak for CHS and sent them into the postseason with a 9-10 record. Coupeville finished 4-5 in league play.

As the #3 team from the 1A Olympic League, they will open the postseason with a home game next Thursday, Feb. 11. Tip-off is 7 PM.

It will be a loser-out game against Bellevue Christian, the #4 team from the Nisqually League — a team they beat 53-50 very early in the season.

To see the district bracket, pop over to: http://www.olympicleague.com/tournament.php?tournament_id=1814&sport=3

Smith’s heroics capped a very close game, as the Eagles were looking to avenge a come-from-behind win by Coupeville just a week ago.

The game was knotted at seven after one, before the Wolves crept ahead 19-17 at the half.

Klahowya immediately turned the tables, using a 15-13 third quarter advantage to tie things up again entering the fourth.

With the game winding down, Coupeville was clinging to a 51-50 lead with 55 seconds to play, but went cold from the field.

Klahowya wasn’t much hotter, but crept back ahead 52-51, only to send Coupeville’s Wiley Hesselgrave to the line with a chance to tie with five ticks left on the clock.

The senior guard, normally the best free-throw shooter on the Wolf roster, missed the front end of a one-and-one, and the Eagles added a free throw of their own to pad the margin to two with 2.9 seconds to play.

During his final time-out, Coupeville coach Anthony Smith turned to his assistant, Dustin Van Velkinburgh, who drew up the game-winning play.

Then the Wolves went out and ran Coach V’s play to perfection, with Risen Johnson taking the in-bounds pass and finding Smith for the dagger.

The trey gave Smith 16 for the night, while Gabe Wynn and JJ Johnson each chipped in with nine. Johnson hit one three-ball for every J in his name.

Jordan Ford banged in the paint for seven, while Hesselgrave (5), Risen Johnson (5), Dante Mitchell (2) and Desmond Bell (1) also scored.

JV wins a thriller as well:

Roaring back in the second half, the young guns forced overtime, then pulled away for a 54-49 win.

The Wolves knotted the game at 45, then controlled the extra period to a 9-4 tune to snap a 10-game losing streak and end their season at 3-14.

Defense was a key, as Coupeville held Klahowya to just 16 second-half points.

That helped them overcome a fairly horrifying night at the free-throw line in which they made just 17 of 55 shots.

Ty Eck hit for 25 to pace the Wolves, while Brian Shank knocked down 18, Gabe Eck rattled the rims for seven and Cameron Toomey-Stout chipped in with four.