Cody Roberts helped key a huge comeback Friday, as Coupeville’s JV toppled South Whidbey. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)
Crunch time is their time.
The Coupeville High School JV boys basketball team is liberally sprinkled with guys who love the spotlight, who live to (metaphorically) gut rivals and leave them to bleed out on the floor.
So Friday night’s rumble against South Whidbey, capped with an electrifying come-from-behind victory, while thrilling, wasn’t especially surprising.
But satisfying? Oh, absolutely.
Charging back from a 14-point halftime deficit, the Wolves used a 27-point explosion in the fourth quarter to KO their hosts 70-63.
Coupeville’s third-straight win, it lifts the JV to 3-0 in North Sound Conference play, 7-3 overall.
The victory is big in the moment. But it’s also a clarion call for the future.
With all but two players on this year’s CHS varsity squad being seniors, the auditions for JV players hoping to move up next year is ongoing.
And, to a man, the younger Wolves are letting people know — they’re coming, and they’re coming for all the wins.
Friday’s tilt actually looked like it might be a South Whidbey romp in the early going, as the Falcons eased out to an 18-8 lead after one quarter of play.
Coupeville got closer during the second frame, but still headed to the locker room trailing 35-21 at the half.
Enter X-Man.
Sophomore sensation Xavier Murdy, having recovered from a preseason injury, is finally back on the floor and splitting time between the varsity and JV.
That limited him to just two quarters of action in Friday’s undercard, but he made every second on the floor count.
After warming up with a quick five points in the third, part of a 22-13 CHS surge, Murdy went off for 14 in the fourth frame, keying a 27-15 run across the game’s final eight minutes.
X-Man drained 9-10 free throws to supplement a variety of field goals, but he wasn’t the only Wolf to sting South Whidbey at crunch time.
Cody Roberts also came up big in the fourth, banking in six points, while Logan Martin and Grady Rickner popped for four and three in the quarter, respectively.
Dominating play in the second half to a 49-28 tune, Coupeville finished the night with 10 of 13 players scoring.
Xavier Murdy led the way with 19, all in the second half, while Martin hit for 12, Grady Rickner notched nine, and Roberts sank eight.
Rounding out the balanced attack were Daniel Olson (7), Sage Downes (7), Alex Murdy (4), Miles Davidson (2), Chris Cernick (2), and Andrew Aparicio (2), while Alex Jimenez, TJ Rickner, and Chris Ruck all saw floor time.
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