Gabe Wynn dropped in a team-high 14 Friday in a loss at Klahowya. (John Fisken photo)
Two boys basketball programs in need of a win ran headlong into each other Friday night, but only one came away satisfied.
Sparked by the hot shooting of Sawyer Snope and John Hartford, Klahowya roared out to a big early lead, then squashed any late comeback hopes to send Coupeville back to Whidbey on the wrong end of a 48-37 score.
The loss drops the Wolves to 0-4 overall, 0-2 in 1A Olympic League play.
For Klahowya, which entered the night 0-4 under first-year head coach Bryan Thoemke, the victory was huge.
Coming off a 1-19 season, the Eagles were looking for any signs of progress.
And they found it on a night when Klahowya was one of the few schools to host a game, thanks to the snow that blanketed Western Washington.
The Eagle girls, who were supposed to travel to Whidbey, didn’t make the trip.
In fairness, there was a lot less snow in Coupeville, which is why the Wolf boys had no problem getting on a bus and ankling out of town.
Once off the bus, though, they had to jump right into things as the varsity played first. And they appeared to have left their shooting touch back on The Rock.
Other than a pair of free throws from Hunter Smith, Coupeville struggled to mount any kind of offensive flow in the first quarter, falling behind 16-2 at the first break.
Hartford came out on fire, knocking down nine in the opening period, then Snope took over.
The only Eagle to score in every quarter, he banked home 12 of his 19 in the first half as Klahowya stretched the lead out to 31-14 at the break.
Something changed, at least for a time, in the third, as Coupeville finally warmed up.
With Gabe Wynn throwing down nine of his team-high 14 in the quarter, CHS controlled things to a 14-5 tune, slicing the lead down to eight heading into the stretch run.
Free throw shooting stung the Wolves, however, as they missed six of seven at the charity stripe in the fourth.
For the game, Coupeville was just 7-15, and if you take away Smith’s flawless 5-5 night, the percentage takes a huge dip.
Snope and Hartford finished with 19 apiece to outscore the Wolves by themselves, while CHS got 14 from Wynn and 13 from Smith.
Brian Shank and Ethan Spark each added five to round out the Coupeville offensive attack.
The two teams will see each other again almost immediately, with a rematch Tuesday on Whidbey. The third and final leg of their trilogy doesn’t come until Jan. 24.
JV cruises to win:
The second unit put a positive spin on Coupeville’s exit strategy, rolling to a 16-6 lead after one quarter, en route to a 45-37 win.
The Wolf JV sits at 2-2 overall, 1-1 in league play.
Sean Toomey-Stout paced the Wolves with 12 points, while also hauling down 10 second-half rebounds to blunt any rallies from Klahowya.
Mason Grove popped for seven, Jacobi Pacquette-Pilgrim and Jered Brown each went for six and Ulrik Wells (5), Koa Davison (5), Kyle Rockwell (2) and Nikolai Lyngra (2) all etched their names in the scoring column.
Davison rejected a team-high five shots to lead the defense.
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