Hunter Bronec dropped in a team-high 12 points Tuesday as Coupeville’s JV waged a tense battle with Mount Vernon Christian. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)
There’s a learning curve.
With six freshmen and six sophomores, the Coupeville High School JV boys basketball team is a young squad still fine-tuning its game.
Tuesday night’s tilt with visiting Mount Vernon Christian is a perfect example.
The Wolves, playing for only the second time in a month thanks to bad weather, the holidays, and the pandemic, fell 43-39 to the Hurricanes.
But that score doesn’t really reflect the wild twists and turns experienced by a Coupeville team which now sits at 1-2 in Northwest 2B/1B League play, 1-4 overall.
The Wolves came out ice cold, almost got run off the floor to begin things, then got sizzlin’ hot and roared all the way back from a 17-point deficit to reclaim the lead.
Only to see the game slip away in the waning moments thanks to an unbelievable MVC advantage at the free throw line.
In the end, veteran CHS coach Randy Bottorff was left to softly shake his head as he reflected on the battle royal while standing in a now-quiet gym.
“They’re getting there,” he said. “Some bumps along the way, but they’re learning.”
MVC blew out to a 17-8 lead after one quarter of play, raining down buckets from all directions on the Wolves.
But this Coupeville squad is a resilient one, and it went right back to work, flipping the score on the Hurricanes in the next frame.
Nick Guay went off for five points in the second quarter, including draining a three-ball, and CHS got scoring from six different players during its own 17-8 tear.
With the game knotted at 25-25 at the half, Coupeville pushed ahead in the third quarter thanks to the wham-bam combo of Guay and Hunter Bronec, who combined to outscore MVC 10-7.
But the win wasn’t to be, as the Hurricanes repeatedly went to the foul line down the stretch, using an 11-4 run to close the game and keep their record spotless.
MVC hit 17 of 25 at the free throw stripe in the game, while Coupeville was … 0-1.
Owen Heinze, who paced Mount Vernon with 17 points, was 11-13 himself on charity shots, and the Wolves couldn’t overcome the disparity.
“They were strong enough to get to the line, and we weren’t,” Bottorff said. “We’ll keep working on getting the guys to move their feet on defense, and not get caught reaching.”
Hunter Bronec finished with a team-high 12 points for Coupeville, while Guay banked in 11 and Zane Oldenstadt knocked down six.
Hurlee Bronec (4), Carson Field (2), Ryan Blouin (2), and Mikey Robinett (2) also scored for the Wolves, with Landon Roberts, William Davidson, Quinten Simpson-Pilgrim, and Jack Porter also seeing floor time.
Coupeville Sports 