Coupeville Sports

Nick Laska elevates to win the tip. (RayLynn Ratcliff photos)

Sometimes you hit the road, and sometimes it hits back.

Thursday afternoon gave the Coupeville Middle School boys’ basketball teams what will likely be their toughest test of the season.

Making the trek to Shoreline to square off with ritzy private school sports juggernaut King’s Junior High, the young Wolves absorbed three losses.

But they also survived and return home with the battle scars to prove their growth.

Next up is a three-game homestand, with Granite Falls kicking things off with a Nov. 21 trip to Cow Town.

After that, Northshore Christian (Nov. 28) and Sultan (Nov. 30) swing by the CMS gym, with the Wolves not getting on a bus again until December rolls around.

CMS hoops coach Alex Evans sets up a play.

How Thursday played out:

Level 1:

Coupeville popped a trio of three-balls through the bottom of the net, but could do little to stop a deep, talented King’s squad.

Chayse Van Velkinburgh rippled the nets for two of the three Wolf shots from behind the arc, with Nick Laska also dropping a trey.

Carson Grove rounded out Coupeville’s scoring with an old-fashioned, but very effective, two-point bucket, while Liam Lawson, Kamden Ratcliff, Calvin Kappes, Nathan Niewald, Khanor Jump, and Trenton Thule were also in uniform.

Level 2:

Kappes was the high scorer for the day for CMS, rattling the rim for a team-best 10 points, while Diesel Eck provided some fuel with four points of his own.

Buckets from Thule — his first of the season — and Jump filled up the scoring column for the Wolves.

Deacon Frost, Maverick Walling, Aiden Wheat, River Simpson, Xander Beaman, and Lincoln Wagner were also on hand to scrap with the Knights.

Level 3:

Jonathan Jacobsen banked in four points to pace the Wolves, with Wagner (2), Walling (2), and Simpson (1) also scoring.

A mysterious bucket, not credited to a specific CMS player, drifted towards the bottom of the scorebook, meaning we’ll never truly know who was responsible for all of Coupeville’s scoring this season.

I, for one, will likely lose some sleep over the matter.

But I can tell you Beaman, Jacob Lujan, Wheat, Frost, Eck, and Mario Martinez were also in uniform for the hardwood clash, so that might be enough to get us through the night.