Coupeville Sports

TJ Rickner banged in four points Friday as Coupeville’s JV went toe-to-toe with Cedar Park Christian. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)

A big leap forward.

The Coupeville High School JV boys basketball squad may have lost twice this season to Cedar Park Christian, but the Wolves drastically improved their performance the second time around.

Ten days ago, CHS went to Bothell and was blown out 61-24.

Jump forward to Friday night, and the final margin was single digits, even with Coupeville’s leading scorer sitting out an entire quarter.

With freshman Xavier Murdy’s playing time being protected in case he played in the varsity contest as well, the Wolves chipped away before eventually falling 60-51.

The loss drops the Coupeville young guns to 2-6 in North Sound Conference play, 6-9 overall, with two games left on the schedule.

The JV, which finishes with road games at South Whidbey and Granite Falls next week, closed out its home schedule with a game in which eight of nine players scored.

The big two in the opening quarter were Murdy, who tossed in seven, and fellow frosh Logan Martin, who banked in six.

Trailing 22-15 at the first break, CHS coach Chris Smith stashed Murdy on the bench in the second frame, while Daniel Olson stepped up to key the Wolf offense.

Going off for all seven of his points on the night, the sophomore swing player did his best to keep Coupeville close, and the Wolves went into the break down 39-27.

The second half, with Murdy back in action, and getting help from everyone on the floor, was a fairly even affair, as CHS attacked the deficit, only to run out of time.

Murdy topped the score-book with a team-high 16 points, while Martin added nine and Olson rattled the rim for seven.

Mitchell Hall (6), TJ Rickner (4), Grady Rickner (4), Cody Roberts (3) and Sage Downes (2) also scored, while Chris Ruck gave the team a burst of energy off the bench.