Sage Downes went for 19 Tuesday, including hitting one of the better buzzer-beaters seen in the CHS gym. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)
There were 98 points scored, but the final three will be the ones remembered.
Capping a splendid one-man shooting show in a losing cause against a powerhouse foe Tuesday, Sage Downes went from on-fire shooter to professional arsonist in the flick of a wrist.
And while his shot for the ages, and his 19 points, weren’t enough to save the Coupeville High School JV boys basketball squad against visiting King’s, you would never know it from the crowd reaction.
Sure, the scoreboard showed a 58-40 advantage for the Knights at the final buzzer, but what happened a millisecond ahead of said buzzer is what we’re here to talk about.
Charging up court, the clock running out on him, Downes, about a billion miles away from the basket, had no time and no chance.
But he had a shot.
Flipping the basketball high in the air, just as he neared the half-court line, while jammed tight against the scorer’s table, Downes arced a rainbow.
And promptly found the bucket of gold waiting underneath it.
His shot dropped from somewhere high up in the rafters, splashing home for a miracle three-ball which should have been worth four or five points for creativity, derring-do and how-the-heck-did-that-go-in.
The crowd went bonkers, the Wolf bench flooded the floor and JV coach Chris Smith about jumped out of the gym, arms pumping like a madman unleashed.
And Downes?
A little grin, a little shrug, a little stare-down of his defender, and then he strolled away, the thought bubble above his head plainly saying, “I can do this every day, any day, baby.”
The shot capped a strong performance for Downes, and his teammates, as they took the best hay-makers King’s could fire, and didn’t break.
The Knights JV, while not having the towering height of their varsity counterparts, are an exceptionally speedy bunch, and they used their jets to bust open the game.
Mixing running layups with net-rustling three-balls of their own — King’s hit five of its six treys in the opening quarter — the visitors led almost from start to finish.
Coupeville actually got on the board first thanks to a pretty pull-up jumper from Xavier Murdy, but then the Knights went to work.
Despite eight points from Downes, including the first two of his five three-balls, the Wolves trailed 19-10 at the first break and couldn’t make up the deficit.
CHS had its moments in the second quarter, though, primarily a three-ball from Logan Martin and a resounding blocked shot from the ever-busy Downes, then played King’s almost even in the second half.
The Wolves closed the third quarter on a 12-5 run, with Downes banking in eight, but he got help.
Grady Rickner also rattled the rim on his own successful trey, while Tucker Hall put on a show doing all the small things which turn into bigger things.
Fighting on the boards, hitting free throws, and twice making great kick-out passes which translated into Wolf three-balls, Hall was the night’s unsung hero.
“Great, great game for Tucker,” Chris Smith said. “Love to see that!”
While Downes was the big man on offense with his 19, Coupeville got balanced scoring, netting points from seven of its 10 players.
Grady Rickner (5), Hall (4), Murdy (4), Martin (3), Daniel Olson (3), and Cody Roberts (2) all chipped in, while Chris Ruck, TJ Rickner and Miles Davidson also saw floor time.
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