Jared Helmstadter, seen here in an earlier game, provided a nice jolt of energy off the bench Tuesday. (John Fisken photo)
If you look at my notes from Tuesday night’s Coupeville vs. Chimacum boys’ basketball game, the same words keep on appearing over and over.
Quick cut. Quick cut. Quick cut.
And every time those two words appear, they are attributed to the same team, which is why the visiting Cowboys ran away with a 69-49 win and why the Wolves exited the floor looking as frustrated as they have at any point this season.
Slashed to death by layup after layup, almost all of which came on quick cuts to the hoop, Coupeville absorbed its second straight loss and dropped to 7-8 overall, 2-3 in league play.
While their chances of catching Port Townsend (5-0) grow slimmer each day, the Wolves are still very much in control of their postseason destiny.
A win Friday at home against Klahowya (0-5) and Coupeville clinches a playoff spot, something last year’s team was unable to do.
Three of the league’s four teams make the playoffs, with the #2 and #3 squads each opening at home.
Earning the #2 berth would mean one less loser-out game to get through, however.
Chimacum (3-2) has a one game lead over Coupeville with four to play for the #2 slot, with the teams having split so far, each winning on the others home court.
The rubber match is Thursday, Feb. 4 at Chimacum.
Tuesday night both teams came out ready for a spirited battle, but missing one key element — the ability to hit a shot. Any shot.
Neither team scored until nearly four minutes into the game, when the Cowboys finally broke through on … a layup off a quick cut to the hoop.
Coupeville couldn’t get a field goal to drop in the first quarter, settling for just a pair of Gabe Wynn free throws, and fell behind 10-2.
Things picked up in the second, with a Jordan Ford put-back at the 7:04 mark finally snapping what had stretched into a nine-minute cold stretch from the field.
Once one shot dropped, the Wolves found more of a rhythm, but could never hit on back-to-back buckets in the first half, allowing Chimacum to hold on to its lead.
Desperate for a boost heading into the half, Coupeville got it when sophomore guard Hunter Smith drilled a three-ball right before the buzzer. The shot pulled the Wolves within 26-16 and provided a ray of hope.
And it seemed to work, at least for a bit.
With Ford pounding away for five, CHS went on a 10-2 run in the third to slash the lead to seven, only to have the run blunted when they promptly gave up 12 unanswered points.
All six buckets? Quick cuts to the hoop and crisp passes setting up layups for the Cowboys.
That became a second-half pattern for the Wolves, as they put together a 14-5 run in the fourth, fueled by a pair of long treys from JJ Johnson.
But, in the next moment, they surrendered nine unanswered points, with passes flying over heads, defensive assignments missed and yep, Chimacum repeatedly slashing to the hoop for largely uncontested buckets.
The game was, in many ways, a microcosm of Coupeville’s season.
When the Wolves are on, they are dangerous, high-flying and fun to watch. When they are off, as they were Tuesday, they tend to self-destruct just as quickly.
Ford was a bright spot, slamming home 13 to take over the season scoring lead, while Hesselgrave knocked down 10.
Smith and Risen Johnson banked home eight each, JJ Johnson racked up six and Dante Mitchell and Wynn chipped in with two apiece.
