Chase Anderson scored a season-high 36 points Friday as Coupeville blew out a solid Darrington squad. (Melanie Wolfe photo)
Darrington came to town as high rollers. It exited as roadkill.
With the Coupeville High School varsity boys’ basketball team playing its most complete game of the season Friday, the Wolves proved win/loss records can be deceptive.
While Brad Sherman’s squad is fighting to get back to .500 and the visiting Loggers carried a 9-4 record onto the floor, the game fully belonged to the home team, which led by as many as 34 points en route to a 75-57 victory.
With the win, its fourth in its last six games, Coupeville gets to 2-3 in Northwest 2B/1B League play, 5-7 overall.
The Wolves also move from sixth to fourth in the seven-team NWL, and are third best among the 2B schools, with conference clashes on the schedule next week against Concrete and Orcas Island.
Before that CHS will get another stern test, hosting non-conference foe Napavine (10-3) Saturday, with tipoff set for 2:00 PM.
Fear will not be a factor, as the Wolves showed against Darrington, which began the night in second place in the Northwest League.
After exchanging early buckets, Coupeville seized the momentum with a 15-8 tear to close the first quarter with a 22-14 lead.
Senior sniper Aiden O’Neill, who knocked down five three-balls on the night, nailed back-to-back treys to kickstart the run, with Malachi Somes and Chase Anderson contributing buckets to keep things hopping.
Anderson, enjoying his best shooting performance of the season, went off for 12 points in the opening frame, then tossed in 15 more in the second quarter as CHS stretched the lead out to 45-26.
Slashing to the bucket for layups, spinning past defenders and leaving them grasping at air, or calmly converting free throws, the Wolf senior outscored Darrington by himself across the first 16 minutes.
Anderson’s final two points of the half came with no time left on the clock, after the refs issued a technical foul to a chippy Logger.
Darrington’s fans got loud in response, then quieted down just as quickly as both charity shots barely rippled the net as they gracefully dropped through.
Camden Glover fights through the defense. (Jackie Saia photo)
The third quarter was a master class for the Wolves, as senior big man Camden Glover began to rampage through the paint for buckets while Anderson and O’Neill continued to slice ‘n dice.
Coupeville moved the ball effectively, with precision passes setting up buckets, and very few CHS shots popping back out.
Davin Houston zipped an especially nice set-up pass into the hands of the waiting Glover on one play, while rough ‘n ready duo Liam Blas and Riley Lawless, playing like the rampaging forces of nature they are, threw Darrington players out of their way in pursuit of rebounds.
Up 70-37 after three quarters, Coupeville had the look of a team that could score 100, but Sherman smartly rested his starters in the fourth, keeping them as fresh as possible for Napavine on a fast turn-around.
Darrington came hard in the fourth quarter, closing the game on a 17-1 surge across the final six minutes, but it was academic at that point.
Anderson finished with a season-high 36 points in three quarters of action, cracked the 800-point club, and continued his march up the CHS boys’ basketball career scoring chart.
Now sitting with 813 points, the Wolf senior passed Hawthorne Wolfe (800) and Corey Cross (811) Friday to move into 14th place all-time for a program launched way back in 1917.
He had plenty of support against Darrington, as O’Neill rattled the rims for 17 points and Glover banked in 13.
Houston (4), Somes (4), and Lawless (1) rounded out the attack, with Easton Green, Nathan Coxsey, and Blas also seeing floor time for the Wolves.
