Coupeville Sports

   Mason Grove knocked down 14 points Friday, including hitting four times from behind the three-point arc. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)

Chris Smith is one of the most upbeat coaches you’ll find.

So, even after his Coupeville High School JV boys basketball squad was torched by a high-quality foe Friday, he could still find a silver lining.

“Tough game … but, on the bright side, we still have some things to work on. At least I know I’ll be busy at practice,” Smith said with a good-natured laugh.

Sequim’s young guns came to Whidbey already highly-polished, while Coupeville’s JV has a huge chunk of newcomers, so the 65-19 final wasn’t a huge surprise.

The loss drops the Wolves to 1-2, but they’ll get a chance to bounce right back with a game Saturday at South Whidbey.

Coupeville fell behind 21-5 after one quarter against Sequim, and didn’t have enough firepower to climb back into the game.

Sophomore Mason Grove went down fighting, though, hitting for a team-high 14 points.

That included four shots from long range, giving the Wolf gunner 17 three-balls in the first three games of the season.

Fellow sophomores Ulrik Wells and Jean Lund-Olsen rounded out Coupeville’s scoring, with three and two points, respectively.

Smith got plenty of playing experience for his still-developing players, with 12 Wolves seeing floor time.

Daniel Olson, Sage Downes, Tucker Hall, Ryan Labrador, Chris Ruck, David Prescott, Alex Jimenez, Jake Pease and Gavin Knoblich all saw action.