Wolf ace Logan Downes is escorted to the bus by his security detail. “No autographs! I said Mr. Downes will NOT be signing autographs today!!” (Angie Downes photo)
Simmer down, Beavis.
Less than a day after seeing things go sideways against Kittitas, the Coupeville High School varsity boys’ basketball team reasserted itself as a hoops squad with strong postseason potential.
Returning to the floor at Central Washington University in Ellensburg, the Wolves put on a cold-blooded beatdown, thumping Cle Elum-Rosalyn 58-32 Friday morning.
This time, Coupeville’s shots stayed in the bucket, instead of bouncing out, and their defensive closeouts were superb.
With a season-high 14 players hitting the hardwood, and 10 of them scoring, the Wolves ran the Warriors off the court and now head into the Christmas break boasting a 7-2 record.
Brad Sherman’s squad, which handed their coach his 60th win at the helm of the Wolf program, doesn’t play again until Jan. 5.
That will be a road game at Darrington as Coupeville opens the chase for a Northwest 2B/1B League title.
The new year will also offer Logan Downes a chance to make history, as the senior is just 11 points away from becoming the sixth Wolf boy, and tenth CHS hoops star overall, to crack 1,000 points.
With 989 and counting, Angie and Ralph’s youngest trails just Jeff Rhubottom (1012), Mike Criscuola (1031), Randy Keefe (1088), Mike Bagby (1137), and Jeff Stone (1137) on the Coupeville career chart.
Downes fellow senior, point guard Cole White (284), is also chasing legends, needing just 10 points to crack the all-time top 100, a club where dad Greg (604) sits at #33.
One Wolf got an early start on the milestones, as Ryan Blouin used the final game of 2023 as the setting for scoring his 100th career point.
Alita’s lil’ brother, a noted three-ball terror, is the 196th Wolf boy to score triple digits in the 107-year history of CHS hoops.
Did hoops whisperer Randy Bottorff make it on the bus to come back to Whidbey? Someone go check this time! (Angie Downes photo)
Friday’s dismantling of Cle Elum was methodical, with Coupeville’s ballhawks attacking viciously on defense, getting out quickly on the break, and sharing the ball as the Warriors tried to keep up with each new incoming dagger.
The game was briefly tied at 2-2, but the Warriors never led, and the Wolves made sure their foes would spend much of the game stumbling backwards as bodies flew by them.
Downes slashed inside for a bucket off of a give-and-go, then rifled a three-ball through the net, the ball arcing like a rainbow, before splashing home.
Toss in an end-to-end run by the lanky White, and another three-ball — this one off the fingertips of sophomore Chase Anderson — and CHS was out to a 12-4 lead before Cle Elum’s fans could even begin to complain about the refs.
From there the Wolves pushed the advantage to 20-8 at the first break, with the Battlin’ Bronec Brothers, Hurlee and Hunter, winning their clash with Cle Elum’s imposing, but slow, center.
Perhaps the twins have a secret history of ballet, or perhaps they were just born with fast-moving toes.
Either way, the Bronecs, with some help from Zane Oldenstadt and William Davidson as the game progressed, shut the paint down and kept it shut down.
The scoring slowed a bit in the second quarter, but Coupeville suffered no letdowns, outscoring Cle Elum in every frame.
Anderson and Downes combined for all nine of their team’s points in the second, with the Wolves going up by as many as 17, then coasting in at the half with a 29-15 lead.
Showcasing his versatility, Downes, who was playing through a hurt hand, opened the third by launching a pair of full court passes to teammates who were off to the races.
“Someone get my security guy! This dude is touching my basketball.” (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)
“Man, they get out fast!” was the muttered response of one chattery Cle Elum fan as White and Anderson pulled down the airborne missiles and slapped home layups.
Meanwhile, one of Brad Sherman’s young sons, rockin’ a vintage Cole White jersey from the “olden” days, excitedly bounced in his seat while eyeballing rival fans.
“He got you today! I’ll be back in a decade or so to make you cry again!!!”
Coupeville kept up its intensity, not allowing the Warriors to shave the lead down like Kittitas did a night earlier, while peppering the net with shot after shot, most of them successful.
Blouin netted a long three-ball, Nick Guay slid a silky jumper through the twines, and White converted another breakaway, this time on a pass from Anderson.
It was pick your poison time for Cle Elum, and every dose was fatal.
Up 45-22 after three, the Wolves never let the lead drop below 21 points, while getting floor time for everyone in uniform.
That included the varsity debut of Landon Roberts, the second appearance with the top team for Aiden O’Neill, and Mikey Robinett’s first bucket of the season.
That basket came off of an offensive rebound, as the Wolf senior outwrestled two Warriors in a wild free-for-all as the clock roared down to 0:00.
It capped the most-balanced offensive attack of the season, with Anderson popping for a season-best 17 points to earn top honors.
Downes tossed in 16, White rippled the nets for six, and Blouin got the scorekeeper to write a five next to his name in the book.
Hurlee Bronec (4), Quinten Simpson-Pilgrim (2), Robinett (2), Hunter Bronec (2), Oldenstadt (2), and Guay (2) also scored, with Davidson, O’Neill, Roberts, and Timothy Nitta earning floor time.
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