Ethan Spark hit for 10 Saturday, but Coupeville couldn’t derail South Whidbey. (John Fisken photo)
Let’s give credit where it’s due.
Lewis Pope is the best high school basketball player on Whidbey Island, and Kody Newman could not miss a three-ball right now if you paid him to do so.
Riding their terrific twosome, who are backed by a deep collection of tree-toppers, the big, fast, hyper-efficient South Whidbey High School boys’ basketball squad pulled away after a close first quarter Saturday and buried host Coupeville 80-45.
The loss drops the undermanned Wolves, who are playing with an eight-man roster, to 0-5 on the season.
The two teams played fairly even for eight, maybe nine minutes, than the Falcons found a different level and didn’t look back.
Brian Shank dropped in three buckets in the first quarter, and Coupeville led three separate times, the last at 8-7.
Trailing 12-10 at the first break, the Wolves were keeping it a game at 17-13 early in the second, only to then witness the Pope and Newman show come to life.
The final link in arguably South Whidbey’s most successful athletic family, Kody Newman revived memories of his many older siblings, drilling treys from every angle imaginable.
If the net moved even once as he drilled five three-balls on his way to a game-high 21, I didn’t see it happen.
Things were set up for him by Lewis Pope, son of the late, well-loved SWHS coach Henry Pope, who continues to develop into a premier player in every way.
A step ahead of everyone, and always planning out three moves ahead while gliding down the court, he picked apart Coupeville’s defense, both with his shots and his set-ups for his teammates.
The Wolves, while over-matched, didn’t back down, putting together their best run in the fourth quarter, when they fought to a 14-14 tie.
CHS junior Hunter Smith did what he could, throwing down a team-high 19, including two long treys of his own.
Shank, who has come alive on the offensive end in the past few games, attacked the basket relentlessly, eking out 12, while Ethan Spark banked home 10.
Cameron Toomey-Stout sank a three-ball on the game’s final play for his first points of the season, while Gabe Wynn added a free throw to round out the scoring.
Ariah Bepler, Hunter Downes and Kyle Rockwell also saw floor time, with Downes netting attention for two plays.
On one, the Wolf quarterback threw a full-court pass to Smith, who hauls in his bombs on the gridiron as well.
On the other, he put a wayward Falcon down hard to the floor during a battle for a rebound, drawing favorable comparisons to the work of former CHS enforcer Julia “Elbows” Myers, who was in the crowd and gave the play a smile of approval.
