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Posts Tagged ‘Boys Basketball’

Wolves make a new town cry every night

Posted in Boys Basketball, tagged , , , , on December 12, 2023| Leave a Comment »

Cole White hit a personal milestone Tuesday, while Coupeville cruised to another road win. (Photos by JohnsPhotos.net)

They’re running the gauntlet, and not just surviving, but thriving.

The Coupeville High School varsity boys’ basketball squad has opened with four of five games on the road, and three of those against bigger schools.

And yet, a quarter of the way through the regular season, with their Northwest 2B/1B League opener set for this Friday, Brad Sherman’s squad is a shiny 4-1.

The latest thrill came Tuesday, when the Wolves got points from eight different players — two of whom hit career milestones — as they shredded host Granite Falls 63-52.

Coupeville led from first bucket to last basket against a 1A school which may move up to 2A in the next round of classification musical chairs and pushed that lead out to as much as 23 at one point.

All it took to deflate Granite Falls was one play.

Wolf senior Logan Downes, who passed hardwood immortals Denny Clark and Brad Sherman on the CHS career scoring chart Tuesday, got things started with a bang.

Slicing through a narrow gap in the defense, he went hard to the hoop, knocked down a driving layup while being hammered, then calmly sank the ensuing free throw for a three-point play the hard way.

Very next possession, sophomore Chase Anderson got his own three-point play, minus the whole “being hammered while shooting” part, as he lofted a trey from the parking lot.

Chase Anderson, ready to terrorize defenses everywhere.

Up 6-0 before the hometown fans could even begin to complain about the refs, the Wolves kept gnashing, tearing off chunks of points.

Anderson scored on a layup set up by a superb Downes pass, then the duo flipped the script, with an Anderson steal leading to his older teammate flying coast to coast for a bucket.

Toss in Cole White peppering the net (while not bleeding during a game for possibly the first time this season), and mom Morgan’s Facebook Live fans were busy doing the wave in the comfort of their own homes.

Up 18-9 heading into the second quarter, Sherman unleashed the Battling Bronec Brothers — rebound-hungry twins Hunter and Hurlee — and high-flying Nick Guay, giving the Tiger defense 99 more problems to deal with.

Coupeville pushed the lead out to 27-12 late in the half, then took a brief team-wide nap, allowing Granite to claw back to within 27-21 at the break.

Perhaps the Wolves pounded some caffeine during the halftime sit-down, or maybe Sherman chose his rally speech well.

Or maybe this squad of hardcourt assassins just likes to live dangerously at times.

Whatever the case may be, the Wolves dallied for a minute or two in the third quarter, then looked at each other and said, “Now we unleash Hell.”

Raining down shots from all angles, Coupeville closed the third frame on an 18-5 game-buster of a tear, with Anderson accounting for eight of those points.

The Bronec Bros?

Each of them bounded high to snare a crucial rebound, before promptly sticking the ball right back through the hoop, dropping a one-two haymaker of destruction which deflated whatever remained of Granite’s resistance.

Things threatened to get out of hand in the fourth, with Wolf big men William Davidson and Zane Oldenstadt moving with the grace of (muscular) ballerinas as they notched buckets, sending their fans into hysterics.

Up by 23, Sherman doled out minutes to everyone in the rotation, giving hard-working Timothy Nitta and Mikey Robinett their first on-court action of the season.

Five players firing as one.

Downes finished with a game-high 26, running his career total to 895 points.

He breaks a tie with Denny Clark (869), passes Brad Sherman (874) and is coming up fast on Pete Petrov (917) for 7th on a career scoring chart which stretches across 107 seasons.

Also hitting a personal milestone was White, who notched the 250th point of his high school career on a twisting layup set up by a steal.

Anderson, who’s just getting rolling on his own prep tale, tallied 13 points to back Downes, while White (8), Hunter Bronec (6), and Guay (4) also kept the scorekeeper busy.

Davidson, Oldenstadt, and Hurlee Bronec rounded out the attack with a bucket apiece, while Quinten Simpson-Pilgrim, Ryan Blouin, Robinett, and Nitta all saw floor time for the Wolves.

Tuesday’s win was the start of a busy week for Coupeville, which travels to Friday Harbor this Friday, then pops home for a rare visit Saturday, with South Whidbey coming to Cow Town.

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Hardwood heroes, captured on film

Posted in Boys Basketball, Middle School, tagged , , , on December 12, 2023| Leave a Comment »

Nick Laska sends a gift to the net. (Photos by JohnsPhotos.net)

The action was explosive, the cameras ever busy.

Coupeville and South Whidbey clashed for middle school boys’ basketball superiority Monday (and again Tuesday), with the Wolves ruling the gym.

Along for the ride was wanderin’ photo clicker John Fisken, who delivers the pics seen above and below.

To see everything he snapped, pop over to:

 

Coupeville:

https://www.johnsphotos.net/Sports/Coupeville-Basketball-2023-2024/MSBBB-2023-12-11-vs-South-Whidbey/

 

South Whidbey:

https://www.johnsphotos.net/Sports/South-Whidbey-HS/MSBBB-2023-12-11-at-Coupeville/

 

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“In my book it was a good day”

Posted in Boys Basketball, tagged , , , , , , on December 12, 2023| Leave a Comment »

Wolf JV hoops stars cheer on their middle school counterparts Monday. A day later the high school players roared to their own huge win. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)

Maybe they just won’t come back home.

Thanks to a quirk in the schedule, the Coupeville High School JV boys’ basketball team hasn’t played a game in its own gym this season, yet is a sterling 3-1.

The latest victory came at Granite Falls Tuesday night, as the Wolves broke open a close game early and romped to a 59-33 triumph.

The third straight non-conference win for the young guns, it sends them to Friday Harbor this Friday for the Northwest 2B/1B League opener riding an emotional high.

And then, and then only, the Wolves finally get their first home game Saturday, when they clash with archrival South Whidbey.

Tuesday’s tilt in Granite was close for about two, maybe three minutes.

The host Tigers actually led at 6-4, and then the tsunami hit and washed away the Tigers.

Johnny Porter and Camden Glover rolled hard to the hoop on back-to-back plays, and the Wolves closed the first quarter on an 11-2 tear, basically ending things on the spot.

Key to Coupeville’s success was the way its players shared the rock.

Then add in a whole bunch of intangibles, and things were looking good for the guys in red and black.

“We had very good ball movement, shared well, spread the wealth, crashed the boards good, shot 90% at the free throw line and everyone got minutes,” said CHS coach Jon Roberts.

“In my book it was a good day.”

Once they had the advantage, the Wolves poured it on, zipping the ball around the horn, looking for the hot hand, and never allowing Granite to have a moment of peace.

Another run, this one 10-0 in the latter half of the second quarter, featured buckets from Riley Lawless, Camden Glover, and Davin Houston, as CHS dominated in the paint.

Setting the table was Landon Roberts, who slashed through the defense, then dropped picture-perfect lobs into the waiting fingers of his big men.

Up 29-13 at the break, Coupeville continued to hammer away at its hapless foes.

Aiden O’Neill spun his defender around like a top, then slashed past him for a bucket, while Jack and Johnny Porter were twin titans of terror, converting offensive rebounds into easy put-backs.

The Wolves kept the flow going throughout the fourth, whether it was Houston and Lawless knocking down buckets, or Malachi Somes, Makai Myles, and Easton Green harassing Tiger ballhandlers into frequent mistakes.

Landon Roberts put the final nail into the coffin, picking off a pass and using his long legs to fly coast to coast to beat the buzzer by half a beat with a game-ending layup.

Coupeville spread its offense around, with Johnny Porter popping for a game-high 13 points, and Jack Porter slapping home 10.

Landon Roberts, Glover, and Lawless had eight apiece, with Houston (6), Green (4), and O’Neill (2) rounding out the attack.

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Winner, winner, Falcon dinner!

Posted in Basketball, Middle School, tagged , , , , on December 11, 2023| Leave a Comment »

Jayden Little flies to the hoop. (Photos by JohnsPhotos.net)

The spell is broken.

Playing at home for the final time this season Monday, the Coupeville Middle School boys’ basketball teams went out with a bang.

Sweeping three wins from visiting South Whidbey, the Wolves fired the first shots in a two-day hoops extravaganza with their neighbors, while claiming their first victories of the season.

Now, during a frantic final week of hardwood action, the two schools will square off again Tuesday, this time in Langley.

That’s a makeup for earlier games postponed by a lack of refs.

After that comes the season finale against Lakewood, also on the road, and then the CMS boys hang up their jerseys for the season.

Reppin’ the red and black.

How Monday played out, on a day when I was babysitting and not in the CMS gym:

 

Level 1:

Wolf big man Nick Laska matched South Whidbey by himself as Coupeville drilled the Falcons 36-20.

The 8th grader, who leads all CMS players in scoring this season, scored in every quarter, racking up four, six, six, and four points on his way to a season high.

Chayse Van Velkinburgh tossed in 11, including hitting on a trio of three-balls, while Calvin Kappes (3) and Khanor Jump (2) rounded out the torrid offensive attack.

Kamden Ratcliff, Carson Grove, Nathan Niewald, and Jackson Sollars also saw floor time for the Wolves in the win.

 

Level 2:

Spreading out the offensive love between six players, Coupeville pulled out a 21-15 win.

Roger Merino-Martinez rippled the nets for a team-best six points, with Treyshawn Stewart adding five, including a three-ball.

Jump knocked down four, while Lincoln Wagner, Jayden Little, and River Simpson chipped in with a bucket apiece.

Xander Beaman, Diesel Eck, and Jonah Weyl rounded out the rotation for CMS coach RayLynn Ratcliff.

 

Level 3:

The biggest rout of the night came in the finale, as Coupeville romped to a 34-10 victory.

Wagner and Deacon Frost paced the Wolves, each tickling the twines for eight, with Johnathan Jacobsen backing them up with six.

Simpson (4), Aiden Wheat (2), Beaman (2), Jacob Lujan (2), and William Tierney (2) also scored, with Mario Martinez bringing the heat on defense.

It was the first points this season for Wheat, Frost, and Tierney, giving Coupeville 23 players who have scored through the first six games.

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Road warriors throttle Turks

Posted in Boys Basketball, tagged , , , , , on December 10, 2023| Leave a Comment »

On their way to deliver another beat-down. (Michelle Glass photo)

Call him Knute Rockne.

Whatever Coupeville High School varsity boys’ basketball coach Brad Sherman said at halftime Saturday, it lit a fire under his squad.

Down by six at the break in Sultan, the Wolves tore up the floor in the second half, turning a nailbiter into a 58-48 romp.

The non-conference road win over a 1A school which is slated to move to 2A next year lifts lil’ 2B Coupeville to 3-1 on the season.

It also gives the Wolves a nice bounce back after taking their first loss of the season and sends them into a busy week on a high note.

CHS hits the road again, and again, playing at Granite Falls Tuesday and Friday Harbor on Friday, before nabbing a rare home game Saturday against archrival South Whidbey.

Playing in front of a chippy crowd in Sultan, the Wolves hung tough during a back-and-forth first half.

Chase Anderson got Coupeville on the scoreboard first, hauling in a long football-style pass from Logan Downes, before the latter nailed a soft jumper of his own.

The Wolf senior had a memorable opening frame, firing another long outlet pass to Cole White for a breakaway layup, and netting the first of his five three-balls.

Downes also put up a shot which got stuck in the gap between the rim and the backboard, though he shrugged that off and kept firing.

Most of a 3-1 team. (Michael Davidson photo)

Up 11-10 at the first break, after thwarting two Sultan shots in the final three seconds, Coupeville opened the scoring in the second quarter thanks to a nifty play from Anderson.

Intended or not — and that was the subject of much debate — the super sophomore froze the defense, appeared to pass the ball to himself by bouncing it off a rival, then slashed to the hoop for a sweet layup.

Sultan responded by mounting its best run of the night, closing the half on a 15-6 run.

A trio of three-balls hurt, while a buzzer-beating turnaround jumper really stung.

Coupeville got a pair of treys, one from Downes and one from Ryan Blouin, during the stretch, but found itself trailing 25-19 at the break.

Not to worry, as Sherman said whatever he said, and, to a man, the Wolves responded.

First up was Downes, who went off for 16 of his season-high 33 points in the third quarter, sticking in knives from every angle and twisting them with wild glee.

Back-to-back three balls tied the game up, and a three-point play the hard way staked Coupeville to a lead it would not relinquish.

White, trying not to get hit in the face by a defender for the third straight game, stayed a step ahead of the Turks, draining a short jumper before slashing to the hoop for a gorgeous layup.

With William Davidson and the Battlin’ Bronec Brothers, twin titans Hunter and Hurlee, hitting the boards with passion, CHS thwarted the Turks from grabbing many second-chance opportunities.

CHS coach Brad Sherman strolls back to the bench as his Wolves prepare to attack. (Michelle Glass photo)

Sultan, down 40-28 late in the third, did cut the deficit back to 42-38 heading into the fourth, but Coupeville had an answer every time.

Anderson, bounding airborne and yanking down a pass like the football receiver he also is, came up with a crunch time bucket, while the Wolves closed things out at the free throw line.

After a Turk three-ball cut the lead down to 50-46 with about 90 seconds to play, Downes crashed through the defense for a game-sealing bucket.

From there, Anderson, White, and Downes calmly flicked charity shots through the rim, each flip of the net a slap to the face of Turk Nation.

Along with the win, the night was rich in history, as Downes moved from #13 to a tie for #9 on the CHS boys’ career scoring list.

Now sitting with 869 points and counting, he’s even with Denny Clark, just six points away from unseating Sherman (874) for #8 on a chart compiled over the course of 107 seasons.

Downes passed Wolf legends Hunter Smith (847), Bill Jarrell (855), and Arik Garthwaite (867) Saturday.

White and Anderson each banked in nine to support Downes and his 33, with Blouin (3), Hunter Bronec (2), and Hurlee Bronec (2) also scoring against the Turks.

Nick Guay, Quinten Simpson-Pilgrim, and Davidson rounded out the rotation.

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