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Archive for the ‘Boys Basketball’ Category

No refs, no Island rivalry rumble

Posted in Boys Basketball, Middle School, tagged , , , , on December 1, 2023| Leave a Comment »

Johnathan Jacobsen stops and pops. (Photos by JohnsPhotos.net)

You won’t be able to complain about the refs this coming Monday.

That’s because there won’t be any available to call Coupeville’s middle school boys’ basketball showdown with archrival South Whidbey.

The games would have gone down in Langley.

The school’s athletic directors are discussing rescheduling, but with the end of the season barreling down, it may not be a possibility.

“It’s a bit tight, so who knows,” said Coupeville AD (and Wazzu super fan) Willie Smith as he rooted for U-Dub football to get pounded by Oregon in the Pac-12 title game.

Coupeville and South Whidbey are still slated to play in Cow Town Dec. 11, unless more refs go missing.

After that, the Wolves travel to Lakewood Dec. 13 for the season finale — barring any reshuffling of the schedule.

Jayden Little curls a pass around his defender.

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Wolves tangle with Turks

Posted in Boys Basketball, Middle School, tagged , , , , on November 30, 2023| Leave a Comment »

Jackson Sollars heads up court. (Photos by JohnsPhotos.net)

The Turks were tough.

Sultan remains one of the most consistent middle school boys’ basketball programs in the region, as shown once again Thursday afternoon.

Having traveled to Coupeville for a late-week rumble, the Turks swept all three games from their hosts – though one game came down to the final seconds.

How the day played out:

 

Level 3:

Things went in reverse order, with the second JV squad tipping off first, and producing the closest thing to a nail-biter seen all day.

In a truly bizarre game, Sultan hit a trio of three-balls in the first two minutes, then scored just a single basket over the next 19 minutes, only to get hot again at the end in a 19-15 win.

One, two, three, the low-level line drive treys found the bottom of the net and Sultan looked like it would run away with things.

But then everything changed.

Diesel Eck rolled hard to the hoop for a bucket to get Coupeville on the board, and the Wolves slowly chipped away at their deficit.

CMS scored three buckets off of rebounds in the second quarter, accounting for all the scoring, and slicing the lead down to 9-8 heading into the locker room.

Maverick Walling pushed Coupeville in front, hitting a short jumper off a pass from Johnathan Jacobsen to open the third, before Sultan finally found the bottom of the net again – this time on a jumper in the paint.

The Wolves responded, however, with Jacobsen cleaning the glass and banking home back-to-back buckets to send his team into the fourth quarter holding on to a 14-11 lead.

It wasn’t to be however, as Sultan nailed consecutive three-balls to open the final frame, before adding a putback off of an offensive board.

A free throw from Xander Beaman accounted for Coupeville’s lone fourth quarter point, with the clock madly running out as the players scrapped on the floor for loose balls in the final seconds.

Jacobsen paced the Wolves with six points, while Mario Martinez (2), Lincoln Wagner (2), Eck (2), Walling (2), and Beaman (1) also scored.

Aiden Wheat also nailed a bucket, but had it waved off as a foul was called on a teammate a fraction of a second before his shot sank through the net.

River Simpson, Jacob Lujan, and Deacon Frost rounded out the roster, showing scrappiness on the boards.

Ready to attack.

 

Level 2:

This was two games in one – before the press and after the press.

With Sultan allowed to bring a full-court defense to bear, the Turks ripped off a 20-0 run to open things.

Then, once was the press was suspended with a 20-point lead — a middle school rule — the two teams fought to a 15-15 stalemate in a game eventually won 35-15 by the Turks.

Jayden Little broke Sultan’s run with a free throw late in the second quarter, and then the power to the scoreboard promptly went out.

Once it came back on, the Turks pushed the lead out to 23-1 at the half and 27-1 midway through the third quarter.

Still playing hard, Coupeville pulled off the day’s best bucket at that moment, with Liam Lawson breaking ankles and dishing the rock to Eck, who smacked home a crowd-pleasing layup.

The Wolves brought intensity to their defensive effort in the waning minutes, with Treyshawn Stewart, Khanor Jump, and Eck registering blocks on Turk shots.

CMS picked up 10 of its 15 points in the fourth, with Roger Merino-Martinez slicing to the hoop to record three buckets in a couple minutes work.

His six points led the offensive attack, while Little (5), Eck (2), and Beaman (2) tallied points, and Jonah Weyl, Frost, and Trenton Thule also nabbed floor time.

 

Level 1:

The top teams went last, and a big second quarter run propelled Sultan to a 39-25 victory.

Take away an 18-4 Turk advantage in that frame and it was a 21-21 stalemate.

Coupeville stayed close early, heading to the first break down just 8-6, with Nick Laska banking home a second-chance ball, before draining a trey from the top.

The dam broke in the second frame, however, and it broke badly, with Sultan ripping off 12 straight points to open the quarter.

Down 26-10 at the half, Coupeville slipped a little further behind at 31-12 after three, before mounting its best run in the fourth.

With Laska and Chayse Van Velkinburgh taking turns raining down buckets, the Wolves won the frame 13-8, closing the game on a 7-0 surge.

The duo accounted for all of Coupeville’s scoring on the afternoon, with Laska pounding away for 15 and Van Velkinburgh slashing his way to 10.

Carson Grove, Calvin Kappes, Nathan Niewald, Jackson Sollars, Kamden Ratcliff, Lawson, and Jump also played for the Wolves.

 

What’s next:

After three straight games at home, the Wolves hit the road for two of their final three.

CMS travels to South Whidbey Dec. 4, then hosts a rematch with their neighbors Dec. 11, before closing the season Dec. 13 at Lakewood.

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Wolves invade Seattle, bring home a win

Posted in Boys Basketball, tagged , , , , , on November 29, 2023| Leave a Comment »

Whether shooting three-balls or eating burgers, Ryan Blouin is all business. (Photos by JohnsPhotos.net)

Sammy Hagar couldn’t drive 55, but Brad Sherman can win 55.

The former Van Halen lead man had a problem with the speed limit, while the Coupeville High School varsity boys’ basketball coach kept his squad humming along Wednesday night.

Taking control early in Seattle, and never relenting during a physical, chippy battle with The Bush School, the Wolves wrapped up a 42-35 victory.

The non-conference win, its second straight against a 1A school, lifts CHS to 2-0 on the season and hands Sherman his 55th career win.

Now, the prairie roundball sage gets to come home, for a moment at least, to lead his team into battle with Toledo Saturday.

The Riverhawks (1-0) will be playing back-to-back games on an Island-hopping adventure, visiting Friday Harbor a day before arriving in Cow Town for a 4:45 tip.

The Wolves stayed undefeated Wednesday by playing stellar defense, sharing the ball on offense, and not spending all night complaining to the refs like the fairly whiny Blazers.

Maybe they just make ’em tougher in Coupeville.

That was shown early, as Wolf big man William Davidson, who got banged up in warmups, had the coaches slap some tape on there, then told his mentors to go and sit down, cause “Big Sexy” needed to go to work.

Corralling a rebound while fending off three players — one for each arm, and his leg aimed at someone else’s fanny — the prairie legend went right back up for a bucket to tie the game at 2-2.

While Ryan Blouin put the Wolves ahead for good by draining a gorgeous three-ball shortly thereafter, Bush went all soft (and whiny) as soon as Davidson flexed.

Once up, Coupeville took it right at the Blazers, with Logan Downes ripping the ball away and hurtling downcourt for layups on back-to-back plays.

The Wolves were savages on defense, drawing three charging fouls in the first quarter alone and picking off enough passes to make Gary Payton proud.

2-0 and lookin’ for more.

Coupeville’s superior toughness continued to shine brightly in the second quarter, as Cole White got smacked in the face, potentially drawing blood while the three refs combined to call zero fouls on the play.

Shrugging if off, the lanky one left the court for a brief second, then came flying back into battle, a glint of danger in his eyes.

CHS pushed the lead out to 18-4, with Blouin netting a trio of three-balls in the first half, before Bush made its one comeback push.

The hosts missed a ton of shots from close range, skipped a bunch of free throws off the rim, but somehow got hot from behind the three-point line.

That helped Bush close the gap to 21-18 at the half, but there was no break in Coupeville’s swagger.

White drilled his own three-ball to open the third quarter, with Nick Guay sucking in the defense, then alertly kicking the ball out to his fellow senior for the open shot.

From there the Wolves kept the lead around 10 the rest of the game, with the Battlin’ Bronec Brothers (Hunter and Hurlee) crashing the boards and White winning a wild battle for control of the ball while sprawled on the floor.

Up 32-23 heading into the fourth, Coupeville got a game-icing three ball from Downes late, while White rampaged from one side of the court to the other, netting three buckets in the final minutes.

The Wolves put three players in double digits, with Downes (14), Blouin (11), and White (11) combining to score 36 of Coupeville’s 42 points.

Guay chipped in with three, Davidson had his highlight reel bucket, and Hunter Bronec made sweet music while dropping a free throw through the net.

For the second straight game, Downes moves up another rung on the CHS career scoring chart.

His 14 points gives him 823 and pushes him past ’70s legend Corey Cross (811) for 13th on a list which began in 1917.

White also hits a numerical sweet spot, reaching 222 and counting for his run on the hardwood.

Sherman put nine players on the floor in Seattle, with Quinten Simpson-Pilgrim, Hurlee Bronec, and Aiden O’Neill also earning minutes.

It was the varsity basketball debut for O’Neill, who has already earned two letters on the gridiron.

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Wolf JV bashes Bush

Posted in Boys Basketball, tagged , , , , on November 29, 2023| Leave a Comment »

Davin Houston (left) and Aiden O’Neill (center) had big games Wednesday in Seattle. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)

It was close for a hot second.

OK, maybe two seconds.

And then the Coupeville High School JV boys’ basketball squad flipped a switch, lit the jets, and ran their hosts off the floor while playing Wednesday night at The Bush School in Seattle.

For one brief moment, the Wolves trailed 6-5 in the early going, and then, wham, bam, go put some ice on your dome, as CHS romped to a 54-20 victory.

The non-conference win, coming against a 1A foe, lifts Coupeville’s JV to 1-1 on the season.

The Wolf young guns will largely be fans this Saturday when their varsity counterparts host Toledo — though a couple of guys will swing up to join the #1 team — not returning to action as a team until Dec. 9, when they travel to Sultan.

Thanks to Toledo not having a second unit, new JV coaches Craig Anderson and Jon Roberts will coach their first five games on the road.

Which just gives them, and their team, a chance to use the out of town run to get everything in sync before they make their home debut.

Wednesday night the Wolves struck first, with Aiden O’Neill going coast to coast to get the scoreboard up and going, before Bush crawled back into the game.

The host Blazers only held the advantage for about the length of time needed for Coupeville to bring the ball up court once, however.

Jack Porter pulled off a three-point play the hard way, banging his way inside for a bucket and free throw, and the Wolves were off to the races.

Up 11-6 at the first break, CHS poured it on in the second frame, stretching its advantage out to 27-10 by the half.

O’Neill was a fireball, picking off passes, careening in for buckets, and teaming up with Landon Roberts to pile up a ton of assists.

If Bush had any grand plans to mount a comeback, those plans died on the white board.

Jack and Johnny Porter were twin terrors on the boards in the third quarter, while Camden Glover pounded the ball down low.

The best scoring play may have come when freshman Davin Houston made off with a steal and hit Roberts in stride for the breakaway bucket.

The fourth quarter was nothing but good times, as Coupeville romped to a 14-0 run across the final eight minutes.

Capping things off was a three-ball from O’Neill, the ball launching from the parking lot and splashing home for an emphatic exclamation point to the game.

For their part, Coupeville’s coaching duo, who moved up from the middle school program to helm the JV, celebrated their first high school win with a couple small nods to each other.

“We got off to a good start, played tough D, and shared the ball as allowed,” Jon Roberts said.

“Got some playing time in with a few who didn’t get much or any at Mt Baker. Good win for the squad.”

Jack Porter paced the Wolves with a game-high 14 points, while Johnny Porter threw down 11 in support.

O’Neill (9), Jayden McManus (6), Houston (6), Glover (4), Roberts (2), and Riley Lawless (2) joined the offensive attack, with Sage Arends also seeing floor time.

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Tough foe, feisty response

Posted in Boys Basketball, Middle School, tagged , , , , , on November 28, 2023| Leave a Comment »

Diesel Eck lets a free throw fly. (Photos by JohnsPhotos.net)

Learn, live, move on to the next challenge.

Facing off with one of the better hoops’ programs in the Cascade League Tuesday, the Coupeville Middle School boys’ basketball teams spent much of the afternoon playing catch-up.

And while the Wolves couldn’t beat visiting Northshore Christian Academy, they did find some strong moments to build upon.

How the day played out:

 

Level 1:

NSC dominated play in the early going, before Coupeville showed improvement once the running clock kicked in during a 41-9 loss.

The visitors spent much of the first half slashing inside for easy buckets, building a 30-0 lead to start things.

Coupeville finally got on the board when Nick Laska elevated and drained a three-ball on the final scoring play of the half.

Immediately afterward, teammate Kamden Ratcliff pulled off the defensive play of the game, winning a battle on the floor for a ball.

In doing so, he took the NSC player to the floor, hard, went up and over him while still holding onto the ball, and showcased some major grit which bodes well for the future.

While the clock madly ticked away after the break, Coupeville held its own in the third quarter, with Carson Grove muscling his way in for back-to-back buckets and Laska turning an offensive rebound into a basket.

For the game, Laska finished with five points, while Grove popped for four.

Calvin Kappes, Ratcliff, Chayse Van Velkinburgh, Khanor Jump, Jackson Sollars, Nathan Niewald, and Liam Lawson also saw action for Alex Evans’ crew.

 

Lincoln Wagner elevates on defense.

 

Level 2:

The sequel played out a lot like the first game, with Coupeville falling behind big early, showing some solid fight in the latter stages, and losing 40-12.

Khanor Jump was the lone Wolf to score through the first three quarters, racking up eight points on a pair of buckets where he rolled hard to the hoop, and a handful of free throws.

He also rejected an NSC shot, while Treyshawn Stewart picked up a block of his own, but in a much louder way.

Losing control of the ball, he chased down the would-be thief, went airborne, and spiked the kid’s shot attempt off the back wall.

It was a thing of raw beauty, danger and anger mixed together, and proof Stewart has as much promise as any player currently wearing a CMS uniform.

Diesel Eck slipped a free throw through the net early in the fourth quarter to break Jump’s streak of scoring all of Coupeville’s points, before Stewart resurfaced.

Launching a three-ball from deep, he made the net sing a sweet song, his trey hitting pay dirt and causing the Wolf fans to scream loudly.

Though, to be honest, the middle school girls in attendance were plenty loud all game long, upholding a proud tradition of CMS hoops fans peeling the paint off the gym walls with their vocal renditions.

In addition to the three Wolves who scored, Jayden Little, River Simpson, Trent Thule, Jonah Weyl, Aiden Wheat, Johnathan Jacobsen, Xander Beaman, Maverick Walling, Lincoln Wagner, Deacon Frost, Jacob Lujan, and Mario Martinez also saw floor time.

 

Wolf ace Aiden Wheat keeps a watchful eye on the pesky paparazzi.

 

Level 3:

NSC is the only school in the league to field just two teams, and not three, preventing Wolf fans from sitting on the rock-hard CMS bleachers for another hour.

Call it a win for our fannies.

 

Up next:

Coupeville hosts Sultan Thursday, with tipoff at 3:15 PM.

Level 3 plays first, followed by Level 2, with Level 1 capping things.

After that, the Wolves travel to South Whidbey Dec. 4, host that same foe Dec. 11, then travel to Lakewood Dec. 13 for the finale.

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