Jacob Schooley was one of 10 Wolves to score Monday afternoon. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)
You win some, you lose some.
Playing at home for the first time in nearly three weeks, the Coupeville Middle School boys basketball teams earned a split Monday with visiting Granite Falls.
The Wolf varsity won big, while the JV played tough, but fell short in their contest.
How the day played out:
Varsity:
Aiden O’Neill is a stone-cold hardwood killer.
With barely a flicker of emotion on his otherwise-inscrutable face, the CMS 8th grader tore out Granite Fall’s beating heart and showed it to the Tigers as they spiraled out of control.
Hitting three second-half three-balls, part of his game-high 13-point effort, O’Neill sparked the Wolves to a 33-16 romp after the game was briefly tied in the third quarter.
The victory evens Coupeville’s record at 2-2 heading into another home game, this one Wednesday against Northshore Christian Academy.
Monday’s marquee matchup was actually close for the first 15 minutes, with the score knotted at 4-4 at the end of the first quarter, and Coupeville clinging to a 12-10 advantage at the half.
Granite rolled in a bucket off a nice move in the paint to tie things back up at 12-12 a minute into the third frame, and then it was time for the Wolves to bring out the whuppin’ stick.
A free throw from Jayden McManus gave CMS a lead it would never relinquish, but it was O’Neill who drove the dagger home.
Or make that daggers, as he buried a pair of treys from the left side to provide the bulk of the scoring in a game-busting 9-0 run to end the period.
In between the majestic three-balls, both of which barely rippled the nets as O’Neill (ever so slightly) cocked an eyebrow, defensive dynamo Malachi Somes ripped off a gem.
Forcing a steal, then sliding past the Granite ballhandler and leaving him spinning in place, the Wolf fireball beat the crowd to the rack at the other end, slapping home a layup.
It brought the pro-Wolf crowd to its feet, and was an especially-nice late birthday present for mom Megan, who celebrated her big day over the weekend.
Granite finally stopped the bleeding, but only when a wildly-thrown three-ball somehow beat the odds, took a lucky bounce, and fell through the net to open the fourth quarter.
Not that it ruffled the Wolves in the least, however, as they promptly scored the game’s final 12 points to put a cap on a game-closing 21-4 surge.
O’Neill drilled another trey, and found time to hit a lil’ scoop shot in the paint, while Somes pulled off the “steal/spin the defender/convert the layup” triple-feature a second time during the final run.
Coupeville, which controlled the boards all game, also came up big on the glass, with McManus and Camden Glover ripping down caroms, then bouncing back up to convert second-chance buckets.
The strong finish more than made up for a somewhat-tentative first half, when the biggest play was O’Neill losing his shoe on a play, yet still playing lock-down defense while ignoring the AWOL footwear.
Chase Anderson also sank a three-ball, off of a crisp in-bounds pass, then made a pretty dish on the fly to set McManus up for a layup.
O’Neill’s 13 was a season-high for him, while Anderson (7), McManus (5), Glover (4), and Somes (4) rounded out the Wolf attack.
Easton Green and Mahkai Myles also saw floor time for CMS in the opener.
JV:
Coupeville’s second unit is very raw — capable of surprising their coaches with some inspired plays, but also still very much in learning mode.
That was evident in a 52-13 loss, which drops the Wolves to 0-4 on the season.
The best bucket of the game came from Captain Teuscher, who picked the ball from a Granite dribbler, then took off on a wild rampage to the other end of the floor.
With nine other guys trying to catch up, the younger brother of CHS cheer captain Bella Velasco suddenly screeched to a halt, popped up on one leg, and calmly flicked in a jumper.
Teuscher didn’t merely break the ankles of the lone defender in front of him, but pretty much flat-out shattered both the Granite dude’s entire legs with his sudden stop-and-pop move.
Other Wolf highlights included Matthew Kuzma and Jonah Weyl crashing hard on defense, and Wyatt Fitch-Marron (somewhat accidentally) invoking the spirit of the 1980’s Detroit Pistons Bad Boys.
That squad won back-to-back NBA titles by beatin’ the crud out of opponents.
While Fitch-Marron and Co. may have a bit to go before they start hanging title banners in the gym, the young Wolf guard made a big impression with his heart and hustle on defense.
In particular, we speak of one play where he (probably inadvertently) hip-checked the guy he was guarding, sending the Granite player sprawling a good five feet.
Fitch-Marron stayed on his feet, even after being at the center of the hit-and-run accident, and had a huge grin on his face afterwards — just as he should.
Plays like that speak well for the work being put in by the young Wolves and their mentors — old-school coaches Jon Roberts and Craig Anderson.
Granite may have had a huge size advantage in the day’s second game, but Coupeville’s players have no quit. And that’s a great place to start.
Riley Lawless and Myles paced the JV with four points apiece, while Teuscher (2), Jacob Schooley (2), and Joshua Stockdale (1) chipped in to the offensive effort.
Also seeing floor time were Carson Grove, Zach Blitch, Max Ohme, Kenny Jacobsen, Dylan Robinett, Ethan Walling, Jackson Waterbury, George Spear, and Beckett Green.
