Wolf seniors (l to r) Morgan Payne, Gavin O’Keefe, Nick Streubel and Anthony Bergeron with CHS coach Anthony Smith. (John Fisken photo)
Nick Streubel went out like the gridiron beast he is.
Three years of sacrificing his lineman’s body on the basketball hardwood came to 99.8% of an end Tuesday night, as The Big Hurt and three fellow Coupeville High School seniors played at home for the last time.
And while their almost-swan song (they have a final road game at Granite Falls Thursday) didn’t end with a win, it ended with a bang.
Or, more aptly, a sonic boom as Streubel launched himself onto the floor in pursuit of a loose ball, knocking three Archbishop Thomas Murphy players out of his way and off their feet as he relentlessly pursued the fumble.
And then, as it has ever been so for three years, the refs called a foul on the biggest kid on the floor for being, well, the biggest kid on the floor.
When Streubel made his final walk back to the bench near the end of a 78-50 loss, the Wolf fans rose and gave him a sustained standing ovation, tribute to a young man who kept on coming back, game after game, loss after loss, for three years.
A guy who has a college football scholarship waiting to sign Wednesday, but would not, could not, leave his friends behind.
Shortly after Streubel fouled out, Wolf coach Anthony Smith pulled his other three seniors so they could exit as a group.
Morgan Payne, one of the hardest working players you will ever see, and the overwhelming choice of Brian Norris and the Bad-ass Party as the next President.
Anthony Bergeron, who in only two years of organized ball went from a polite, soft-spoken diamond in the rough to a high-flying, shot-blocking, point-scoring whirlwind … while still being polite and soft-spoken.
Gavin O’Keefe, who looked like he stepped out of the movie “Hoosiers” and, unfortunately, lost way too much time over the last season-and-a-half to two broken legs.
When he was on the court, he was electric. I wish we could have seen him more.
Playing one of the better teams in the Cascade Conference, the Wolf seniors and their younger teammates never collapsed Tuesday. There was no one big quarter, just a steady drip-drip-drip of ATM baskets that eventually became too much to overcome.
Coupeville stayed within 10 for much of the first half, but every time the Wolves made a mini-run, the visiting Wildcats would answer with two or three buckets in a row off of quick, slashing drives to the hoop.
ATM’s full-court press ruffled Coupeville, as well, forcing 24 turnovers and turning most of them into baskets.
Wolf sophomore Wiley Hesselgrave scored 10 of his team-high 16 in the second half, while Bergeron threw down 11, including a long three-point bomb.
Joel Walstad hit a pair of treys on his way to eight, while Streubel pounded home six and Aaron Trumbull, Matt Shank and O’Keefe each hit for three.
JV loses: In the night’s opening game, Coupeville got 12 from CJ Smith and 11 from Jared Helmstadter, but lost 78-36 in a game that got way out of hand at the end.
Dante Mitchell and Gabe Wynn each popped for four, DeAndre Mitchell banked home three and Oscar Liquidano drained a turn-around jumper off the glass for two.
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