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Posts Tagged ‘Abel O’Neil’

Close games, big intensity

Posted in Boys Basketball, Middle School, tagged , , , , on December 4, 2025| Leave a Comment »

Coupeville defenders Nico Strong (10), Abel O’Neil (middle) and Les Queen (right) converge on a rival in an earlier game. (Julie Wheat photo)

It was a rumble in the side gym.

While their high school counterparts punched it out with Forks next door Thursday, the Coupeville Middle School boys’ basketball squads did their own dance with visiting Lakewood.

Squaring off with a much-bigger school, the Wolves won one and narrowly lost two in an afternoon of close finishes.

 

How the day played out:

 

Level 1:

A single point separated the top squads, with Lakewood sneaking away with a razor-thin 44-43 victory.

While the loss drops Coupeville to 2-4 on the season, the Wolves showed plenty of offensive pop, with a trio of players hitting double-digit scoring on the afternoon.

CMS big man Diesel Eck was rumbling in the paint and popping outside to singe the nets on a three-ball, en route to a game-high 18-point performance.

Backing him up with 10 points each was River Simpson and Kamden Ratcliff, while Trey Stewart banked in three, and Xander Beaman popped for two to round out the attack.

Gracen Joiner, Darius Stewart, Colton Ashby, and Aiden Wheat also saw floor time for the Wolves.

CMS coach Alex Evans (red hat) plots some strategy. (Suzan Georges photo)

 

Level 2:

Another close one, but this time it was the Wolves who got to howl at the end.

Sparked by 14 points off the fingertips of Les Queen, CMS came out on top 33-31 to run its record to a sparkling 5-1.

RayLynn Ratcliff’s squad has won four straight games, with their only loss this season coming early to powerhouse King’s.

While Queen earned top honors in the scoring column, five other Wolves scored as well, led by Braxten Ratcliff, who made the nets jump for seven points.

Nico Strong (4), Xander Flowers (4), Abel O’Neil (2), and Brady Sherman (2) also tallied points, with Brayden Grinstead, Henry Purdue, Mario Martinez, and Hayden Maynes seeing floor time.

 

Level 3:

A late run wasn’t quite enough for Coupeville, which fell 29-22 and sits at 1-4 on the season.

The Wolves poured in 13 of their points in the fourth quarter, but a scoreless third stung.

Dreyke Mendiola paced CMS with seven points, with Gabe Reed (6), Luke Blas (5), Alton Hansen (3), and LJ Schultz (1) also making the scorebook keeper burn some pencil lead.

Oliver Miller, Burke Winger, Jack Bailey, Vincent Alguire, Logan Dees, Jon Driscoll, Dom Durbin, and Logan Flowers rounded out the roster, bringing passion and grit to their time on the floor.

 

Up next:

Two more games left in the season, and they are both Monday matinees at home.

Coupeville hosts Sultan Dec. 8, then wraps the campaign by welcoming South Whidbey to Cow Town Dec. 15. Tipoff is 3:15 PM each time.

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Feisty Wolves tangle with big-timers

Posted in Boys Basketball, Middle School, tagged , , , , on November 18, 2025| Leave a Comment »

Abel O’Neil, the Zen Master. (Photo courtesy Fern Photography)

They squared off with the hoops heavyweights of the region and lived to tell the tale.

While the Coupeville Middle School boys’ basketball teams didn’t nab a win Tuesday at King’s, the Wolves remained scrappy from opening tip to final buzzer.

How the day played out:

 

Team #1:

A rough second half ultimately doomed Coupeville in a 45-23 loss.

The Wolves, now 0-2 on the season, peppered the nets for 21 first half points, but were held scoreless in the third quarter and couldn’t get the net to accept many of their offerings in the late stages of the game.

Diesel Eck topped CMS with eight points, while Trey Stewart banged away for six in support.

Also scoring were Kamden Ratcliff (3), Gracen Joiner (2), Xander Beaman (2), and River Simpson (2), with Ratcliff swishing a three-ball.

Maverick Walling, Aiden Wheat, Darius Stewart, Jacob Lujan, and Colton Ashby finished out the Wolf roster.

 

Team #2:

A tense nail-biter, with King’s pulling out a 31-30 win to defend its home turf.

The narrow loss drops the Wolves to 1-1 on the season, but pushing the highly favored Knights to the final shot is a major step forward for a young CMS squad.

Braxten Ratcliff banked in a trio of three-balls en route to a team-high 12 points, while Les Queen (5), Nico Strong (4), Brady Sherman (4), Mario Martinez (3), and Abel O’Neil (2) rounded out the attack.

Also in uniform for Coupeville were Jack Bailey, Henry Purdue, Hayden Maynes, Dreyke Mendiola, Brayden Grinstead, Mica McCloskey, and Xander Flowers.

 

Team #3:

Coupeville was clicking in the second quarter but had trouble getting the ball to stay in the net the rest of the night and came up short in a 29-18 loss.

Now 1-1 on the season, CMS was paced by Dreyke Mendiola and Luke Blas, who each nailed a three-ball while recording nine and five points, respectively.

LJ Schultz and Liam Stoner chipped in with a basket apiece, with Oliver Miller, Burke Winger, Gabe Reed, Vincent Alguire, Jon Driscoll, Logan Dees, Dom Durbin, Jack Bailey, Logan Flowers, Alton Hansen, and Mica McCloskey also on call.

 

Up next:

Coupeville travels to Everett Thursday to face Northshore Christian Academy, then gets its first home games Nov. 25, when Granite Falls comes to Cow Town.

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