William Davidson eyeballs the paparazzi. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)
A bump in the road.
It wasn’t the way the Coupeville High School varsity boys’ basketball team wanted to end the regular season, falling 67-60 at Friday Harbor in a foul-riddled brawl Friday night.
But while the loss drops the Wolves to 13-7 on the season, it ultimately doesn’t matter all that much, except as a lesson to be learned.
Friday Harbor is still NOT going to the postseason, and Coupeville is still the #1 playoff seed from District 1, and that was set in stone long before the Wolves went Island-hopping.
The Wolves host Northwest Christian (Lacey) Tuesday, Feb. 14 in their bi-district opener, then welcome either Auburn Adventist Academy or La Conner to the CHS gym Feb. 16.
Win two games in the four-team double-elimination royal rumble, and Coupeville heads back to the state tourney for the second-straight season.
So, celebrate tonight Friday Harbor boys’ hoops fans, because tomorrow you can start thinking about spring sports.
Dominic Coffman is ready for the playoffs. (Bailey Thule photo)
Friday’s tilt started firmly in favor of Coupeville, took a nasty detour, then became a bare-knuckle slugfest in the late going.
Nick Guay opened the game by hitting a jumper, before the refs discovered the teams were using the smaller basketball normally employed by high school female players.
The basket stood, however, and then Logan Downes and Alex Murdy combined to rain down a trio of three-balls with their normal ball, helping the Wolves build an 11-4 lead midway through the first quarter.
Things got batty from there, however, as Friday Harbor hit a groove (and a bunch of buckets), using a 20-2 surge over the next 6-8 minutes, pulling ahead 24-13.
Coupeville rallied, with Murdy raining down shots while hanging in mid-air, while teammate Jonathan Valenzuela swept up a wayward baby who wandered onto the court during play.
Back within 29-23 at the half, the Wolves were playing with fire, as they have from time to time this season, falling behind, then rallying to crush foes.
This time, however, Friday Harbor didn’t crack, matching CHS bucket for bucket across the third quarter during a 19-19 stalemate.
Cole White hit a variety of pressure-packed shots, freshman Chase Anderson came up with a big steal and breakaway bucket, and Murdy was locked-in as he cracked the 400-point club like older brother Xavier before him.
But the Wolverines stayed patient, hit the boards hard, and netted a string of three-balls to keep the Wolves at bay.
For a moment at least.
Back down by 11 in the fourth quarter, Coupeville went on a 15-4 tear, knotting things up at 59-59 when Downes splashed home a trey from deep on the right side of the floor.
White set the play up with a nifty steal, and an earlier technical foul on the hosts for being chippy helped as well.
But then, as quickly as the comeback had come to life, Coupeville’s shooting touch evaporated.
Friday Harbor, cheered on by La Conner players in the stands (rival schools uniting for a night to heckle the big dogs), hit six free throws in the waning moments.
Tack on a put-back off of an offensive rebound, and the Wolverines were able to slam the door shut.
For this night, at least.
Downes finished with a game-high 29 points, while Murdy banked in 15, and White tickled the twines for 10.
Guay (2), Anderson (2), William Davidson (1), and Coffman (1) also scored, while Ryan Blouin, Zane Oldenstadt, and Valenzuela saw floor time.
With his first three-ball of the night Downes passed Jeff Rhubottom (459 points in 1977-1978), and now has the second-best single-season scoring total, boy or girl, in 106 years of CHS basketball.
The Wolf junior sits with 486 points heading into the playoffs, chasing just Jeff Stone, who rattled the rims for 644 in 1969-1970.
Career-wise, Downes cracks the 700-point club, passing Chris Good (688) to move into 21st place all-time with 710 and counting.
Coupeville Sports 
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