Jack Porter prepares to inflict some damage. (Parker Hammons photo)
They gave Brad Sherman some angina, but they also gave him a win.
Overcoming another cold-shooting night at the free throw line and a four-minute-plus scoreless streak to open the fourth quarter, the Coupeville High School varsity boys’ basketball team pulled out a major win on its home floor Friday night.
Getting huge plays from Hurlee Bronec and Jack Porter at crunch time, the Wolves turned away a pesky Friday Harbor squad, gutting out a 50-46 victory.
That lifts Sherman’s hardwood warriors to 6-4 in Northwest 2B/1B League play, clinches third place in the seven-team league, and improves them to 7-12 overall.
Next up is the double-elimination District 1/2 tournament, which kicks off next Thursday, Feb. 13.
The bracket for the seven-team rumble, which will send two schools on to the state tourney, is expected to be released Monday, which is when CHS will find out if it opens at home or on the road.
Friday’s win, which was uncertain until the final moments, was your typical Coupeville vs. Friday Harbor brawl, played out in front of packed stands on Senior Night.
The game started with repeat visits to the free throw line, with Friday Harbor scoring its opening six points on charity shots.
Coupeville took two-minutes-plus to hit its first bucket, finally breaking through when Camden Glover connected on back-to-back shots to get things rolling.
A Landon Roberts basket off of an offensive rebound gave the Wolves their first lead at 12-11, with Chase Anderson slashing through the defense to stake CHS to a 16-13 lead at the opening break.
Anderson’s bucket was set up by a nimble entry pass from Hunter Bronec, who had the magic touch as an assist man all night.
Hunter Bronec triggers the offense. (Jackie Saia photo)
If either team thought they would pull away in the first half, that idea was quickly tossed out.
Friday Harbor banked in a trio of second quarter three-balls to keep the nets hoppin’, but Coupeville responded with power ball from the Porter twins.
Johnny corralled a rebound and converted it into a put-back, while Jack pumped in three buckets on a variety of moves, proving unbeatable whether slashing to the hoop or pulling up for a jumper over the defense.
Clinging to just a 28-27 lead at the half, CHS fell behind twice in the third quarter, but just by a single point each time.
Hurlee Bronec became the go-to guy on offense in the third, rolling to the hoop with a skip in his step, while Hunter Bronec set up Anderson for another highlight reel-worthy basket.
But the big bang came off the fingertips of Malachi Somes, who drained a three-ball from the top for Coupeville’s only trey on the night.
The joint was rocking as the Wolves carried a 41-39 lead into the fourth, but the scoreboard went into a deep freeze shortly thereafter.
With both squads ramping up the defensive intensity, shots slid off the rim, balls popped back out, and the battle for rebounds reached a fever peak.
Through the first four minutes and nine seconds of the fourth, the teams combined for one slim point — a Friday Harbor free throw that cut the lead down to 41-40, causing Sherman (and his counterpart) to pace.
Then, Coupeville’s seniors stepped up and put the game away.
Buckets from Hurlee Bronec (doing ballet in the paint) and Landon Roberts (making magic on a turnaround jumper under extreme duress) kept CHS ahead, but the best was yet to come.
Up 45-42, Coupeville, which hadn’t hit a free throw all game, went back to the line.
This time, Hurlee Bronec netted the first shot, and when the second one refused to go down, it was the Wolves who snared the carom.
While Coupeville missed the first put-back attempt, it nailed the second, with Jack Porter turning it into a game-clinching three-point play the hard way.
Two buckets in the waning seconds kept Friday Harbor close, but Hurlee Bronec dropped in another free throw and the Wolves played keep-away as the clock ran out.
The Wolves love a win. (Jackie Saia photo)
In the kind of twist which will ease some of that coaching angina, all eight Wolves who played scored, with three hitting double-digits.
Jack Porter banked in a team-high 13, with Hurlee Bronec and Anderson each netting 10.
That pushes Anderson, a junior, to an even 300 points this season, and 560 for his varsity career.
He passed Wolf legends Roy Marti (551) and Randy Duggan (552) Friday and now sits at #40 on the CHS boys all-time scoring chart, which covers 1917-2025.
Roberts (6), Glover (4), Somes (3), Johnny Porter (2), and Hunter Bronec (2) also scored for the Wolves.
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