Coupeville Sports

Jonathan Valenzuela torched the nets for 23 points Wednesday night, pacing the Coupeville JV boys basketball squad to a big road win. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)

The net was sending a message to Jonathan Valenzuela Wednesday night.

“Keep shooting.”

So the Coupeville High School sophomore did just that, raining down 23 points, including hitting four three-balls, to spark the Wolf JV boys hoops squad to a wire-to-wire road win.

Coming out on top 39-23 at La Conner, Valenzuela and his running mates won their second-straight game, improving to 2-3 on the season.

The Wolves get an immediate chance to keep their hot streak alive, returning home Thursday to host Mount Vernon Christian in another Northwest 2B/1B League rumble.

Wednesday’s scrap was over almost before it began, with Coupeville running out to a quick 8-0 lead and never looking back.

Valenzuela opened things with a layup and a soft runner in the paint, Cole White popped in for a steal and breakaway bucket, then Valenzuela banked in another basket and the net was poppin’.

For the Wolves at least, as La Conner struggled to score against an amped-up CHS defense,

Coupeville led 10-2 at the first break, pushed it out to 20-5 by the half, then strolled in with a 30-18 advantage through three quarters.

Valenzuela knocked down back-to-back treys twice, first in the second quarter, then again in the fourth frame.

The second of his four three-balls was maybe the most-impressive, as it rustled the net at the very last millisecond, beating the shot clock by the smallest of margins.

Another Valenzuela bomb from behind the arc was set up by a nice pass from William Davidson, who also came around to have his own unique shooting situation.

While a lot of high school shooters aim for the rim when shooting free throws, the Wolf freshman showcased a different, and much-more successful, style.

Using the glass like a pool hustler, Davidson banked in both of his attempts, the ball kissing the backboard and plopping happily through the net with a satisfied lil’ sigh.

Scoring often gets the headlines, but rebounding and hustle on defense are keys to hoops success, and Coupeville has a group of down ‘n dirty scrappers.

Freshmen Zane Oldenstadt and Mikey Robinett, in particular, stood out for their glass-cleaning and opponent-scaring ability Wednesday night.

In the scorebook, White rattled home four points in support of Valenzuela’s season-high 23, while Robinett (3), Logan Downes (3), Davidson (2), Oldenstadt (2), and Nick Guay (2) all hit nothing but net.

Quinten Simpson-Pilgrim, Dominic Coffman, Andrew Williams, Nathan Ginnings, Alex Wasik, and Ryan Blouin all saw floor time, as CHS coach Hunter Smith nimbly juggled his stacked lineup.