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Posts Tagged ‘Boys Basketball’

Downes dazzles, Wolves howl

Posted in Boys Basketball, tagged , , , , on December 18, 2022| Leave a Comment »

Logan Downes hit six three-balls Saturday while torching the nets for a career-high 33 points. (Andrew Williams photo)

He pulled a Larry Bird.

Matching the uniform number of the former NBA great, Coupeville High School junior Logan Downes threw down a career-high 33 points Saturday in Forks, sparking the Wolf varsity to a huge win.

Pulling out a 52-46 non-conference victory despite not scoring as a team in the second quarter, CHS gets to 3-4 on the season.

Now, the Wolves, who played three games in the last four days, are off for a week-plus, not returning to action until they hit a tournament in Eastern Washington Dec. 27-28.

When they head to Wenatchee for that two-game tilt, Brad Sherman’s squad will carry positive mojo from Saturday’s win.

Facing a fellow 2B team for the first time this season, and an always tough one at that, the Wolves headed to Forks coming off a fairly lackluster performance against Sedro-Woolley two days earlier.

And Coupeville responded in style.

Coming out of the gate strongly, with Downes tossing in 13 points in the opening frame, the Wolves roared out to a 21-8 advantage.

Only to see the rim turn harsh on them, denying each and every Coupeville shot in an agonizing eight-minute span.

The Wolf defense saved them, however, as they held Forks to a fairly modest nine points in the second quarter, and still clung to a 21-17 lead at the half.

If Sherman was worried, the ever-calm hoops guru didn’t show it, and his players responded, with Downes dropping another 13 points in the third quarter.

Wolf coach Brad Sherman, back in Forks for the first time since he was a teenager. (Morgan White photo)

Ryan Blouin nailed a long three-ball to help out, keeping Coupeville ahead 37-35 heading into the final frame, before the Wolves closed like champs.

Cole White, Jonathan Valenzuela, Downes, and freshman Chase Anderson got big buckets down the stretch, with the Wolves also netting all four of their free throw attempts in the fourth.

Downes 33-point performance, fueled by six three-balls, is the most by a CHS player since Hawthorne Wolfe netted 38 twice during the 2020-2021 season.

The school single-game record of 48 was set by Jeff Stone in 1970, back before you got an extra point for hitting a shot from behind the arc.

Downes began Saturday’s game as the #79 scorer all-time in the 106-year history of Wolf boys’ basketball and finished it at #67.

He passed 12 former CHS players in one day, including highlight-reel dudes like Robin Larson, Ethan Spark, Glenn Losey, and JD Wilcox, and sits with 374 career points and counting.

Coupeville got scoring from seven other players Saturday, with White (4), Valenzuela (4), Blouin (3), Nick Guay (2), Dominic Coffman (2), Alex Murdy (2) and Anderson (2) getting their names in the book.

William Davidson and Zane Oldenstadt battled like beasts on the boards, with Coupeville once again proving it can go toe-to-toe with rough ‘n tumble foes.

The Wolf defense clamps down. (Morgan White photo)

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JV boys chomp Spartans

Posted in Boys Basketball, tagged , , , , on December 17, 2022| Leave a Comment »

Camden Glover slaps in a bucket. (Morgan White photo)

Let the Wolves run wild.

Coupeville High School JV boys’ basketball coach Hunter Smith did just that Saturday, unleashing his pack and letting them savage host Forks.

Blowing the game open with a big second-quarter run, and getting points from all nine guys in uniform, the Wolves turned an early deficit into a runaway 60-40 win.

The non-conference victory sends Coupeville’s young guns into the holidays with a 2-3 record.

The boys JV doesn’t return to action until a home game Jan. 6 against Orcas Island, in what will be the league opener.

Saturday’s bout in the town which gave the world both Ron Bagby and Twilight was a tense affair early, with Forks clinging to a 17-13 lead at the first break.

Camden Glover paced Coupeville in that opening frame, pouring in six points with strong work in the paint, but the Spartans held a slight edge.

Which promptly vanished in a hail of Wolf buckets, as CHS went on a game-busting 24-6 tear across the second eight-minute segment of the game.

The Porter twins led the attack, combining for 14 of their 20 points in the second quarter, with Johnny edging Jack 8-6 during the tear.

Up 37-23 at the half, Coupeville continued to pull away after the halftime break.

Wolf fab frosh Malachi Somes popped a third quarter three-ball and liked it so much, he came back to nail a second trey as CHS pushed its lead out to 19 points.

Coupeville got something from everyone, with the Porter boys leading the scoring attack with 10 points apiece.

Hunter Bronec (9), Aiden O’Neill (8), Glover (8), Somes (6), Chase Anderson (5), Yohannon Sandles (2), and Carson Field (2) also scored, with Sandles sinking a pair of free throws for his first high school points.

Chase Anderson heads to the hoop. (Morgan White photo)

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Rough night, but it’s just a night

Posted in Boys Basketball, tagged , , , , on December 16, 2022| Leave a Comment »

Wolves Cole White (front) and Logan Downes ponder their place in the universe. (Chloe Marzocca photo)

One step at a time.

A new-look Coupeville High School varsity boys’ basketball team has opened the season with four of its first six games coming against schools from higher classifications.

It’s been a learning experience for the Wolves, one which is hopefully preparing them for defending their Northwest 2B/1B League title.

Thursday night, playing at home for the second time in a 24-hour period, Coupeville hit a bit of a rough patch, falling 50-29 to 2A Sedro-Woolley.

It was a game where the Wolves held their own in the second quarter and dominated in the fourth yet took it on the chin in the other two frames.

The non-conference loss drops CHS to 2-4 heading into a road trip Saturday to Forks.

That clash with the Spartans marks the first time this season the Wolves will face off with a fellow 2B school.

The goal for Coupeville will be to take what it learned while getting run over by Sedro and turn it into positives.

And there were some strong moments for the Wolves, just not in the early going.

Alex Murdy dropped a pair of runners to provide Coupeville’s only offense in the first quarter, while Sedro ran circles around its hosts while building a 16-4 lead.

A three-ball to open the second frame pushed the Cubs out in front by 15 points, and that’s where the margin remained for the rest of the first half.

Coupeville clamped down more on defense, and got some tentative bursts of offense, but couldn’t quite get everything to gel at the same time.

That set up a fairly miserable third quarter, with the Wolves absorbing a 16-2 Cub run fueled by a trio of three-balls.

Mixing up his lineup in the final frame, CHS coach Brad Sherman found a unit which clicked, and the Wolves refused to go quietly.

Coupeville closed the night on a 13-3 tear, with Ryan Blouin and Jonathan Valenzuela dropping buckets while they and their teammates increased the defensive intensity.

The Wolves got under the skin of Sedro-Woolley’s coach a bit, and his whining to the refs earned him a rebuke from the guys in the striped shirts.

So, there was that, which was nice.

Overall, Coupeville’s 29 points was its lowest total of the season, by far, as the Wolves rattled the rims for between 54 and 81 in all of its previous games.

Murdy banked in eight to pace the Wolves, with Logan Downes (6), Blouin (5), Valenzuela (4), Nick Guay (2), Dominic Coffman (2), and Chase Anderson (2) also scoring.

Mikey Robinett, Cole White, Jermiah Copeland, Quinten Pilgrim-Simpson, Zane Oldenstadt, and William Davidson rounded out the roster.

Chase Anderson heads to the rim. (Chloe Marzocca photo)

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Cubs get hot, Wolves go cold

Posted in Boys Basketball, tagged , , , , on December 15, 2022| Leave a Comment »

Aiden O’Neill surges to the hoop. (Chloe Marzocca photo)

Too many runs.

The Coupeville High School JV boys’ basketball squad survived one 11-0 tear by visiting Sedro-Woolley Thursday night.

The second time it happened, however, the Wolves didn’t recover.

Unable to stop a high-flying Sedro offense, Coupeville saw a one-point game turn into something much more like a rout, eventually falling 69-39.

The non-conference loss drops the Wolves to 1-3, with a road game Saturday at Forks next up on the schedule.

Coupeville struck first Thursday, with freshman Aiden O’Neill taking the ball end-to-end for a flying layup.

But then, in the blink of an eye, the visitors responded with a three-ball, kicking off a run of 11 straight points.

The Wolves recovered, step by step, slowing down the game by crashing to the hoop and getting free throws.

Chase Anderson rippled the nets for four charity shots, while Hunter Bronec added a fifth, and CHS chipped the deficit back to 18-9 by the first break.

Playing their best ball of the night, the Wolves jumped on the Cubs as the second quarter started, pulling within 20-19 after Camden Glover knocked down a short jumper in the paint.

That capped a 10-2 Coupeville surge, with Glover and both Hunter and Hurlee Bronec coming up big.

But, as quickly as the momentum shifted to the Wolves, it washed away, and this time when Sedro put the hammer down, it put it down for good.

The game’s second 11-0 run stretched the margin back to double-digits and a couple of late three-balls from the visitors helped them eventually carve out a 39-26 advantage by halftime.

The third quarter was a back-and-forth affair, but Coupeville never again got the deficit under 10, and a 19-3 Sedro rampage in the final frame made the score look worse than it really was.

The Wolves did spread their own offensive attack out, with O’Neill dropping a team-high 11 points.

Hunter Bronec (8), Anderson (6), Hurlee Bronec (5), Glover (4), Jack Porter (3), and Landon Roberts (2) also scored for CHS.

Mikey Robinett, Carson Field, Malachi Somes, Johnny Porter, and Yohannon Sandles rounded out the active roster for CHS coach Hunter Smith.

Hunter Bronec (14) and Jack Porter clamp down on defense. (Chloe Marzocca photo)

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RIP to The Zinger

Posted in Boys Basketball, tagged , , , , on December 15, 2022| Leave a Comment »

Jack Elzinga, a Wolf hoops legend then and now.

They’re a part of the brotherhood of the hardwood, forever.

Wednesday night, Coupeville High School junior Mikey Robinett made his varsity basketball debut, knocking down a pair of buckets to become the 411th player to score for a program which began way back in 1917.

Or at least he’s the 411th player I can document, as there are still many players from the very early days whose names and stats remain hidden behind a veil of prairie fog, their fates bound to long-lost scorebooks.

For every Banky Fisher and Gaylord Stidham, who led the 1939-1940 CHS hoops squad with 44 and 41 points respectively, there remains a bunch of prairie guys from the ’20s and ’30s just out of my grasp.

Which is why it was such a thrill in May 2021 when a program legend suddenly surfaced with new info, gently bemused that I cared so much about his teenage days.

Jack Elzinga filled up the hoops for the Wolves in the early ’50s, then went on to lead an extraordinary life.

One day he Googles himself and finds to his amazement some dude back in his hometown has been name-dropping him on a regular basis.

An email exchange later, with his side of the conversation feeling more like a beautifully handwritten letter, “The Zinger” reveals he’s not only still alive, but possesses info on the 1953-1954 Wolf squad, one of my two holy grails.

Thanks to Elzinga, I’m able to finally lock down finished career numbers for both him and Jerry Zylstra, while getting halfway home in my mission to honor Tom Sahli.

Now, we know for a fact Sahli owns the seventh-best single-season performance by a Coupeville boy, knocking down 409 points as a senior.

Combined with the 310 he tallied as a junior, he sits with 719 points on my list, jumping from #90 to #20 on the career scoring chart.

Now there’s still the matter of that other missing holy grail — a scorebook for Sahli’s sophomore season of 1951-52 — but every time someone cleans out an old barn, hope flutters on the winds.

Thanks to Elzinga’s stats, Zylstra (527 points) moved from #59 to #44 all-time, while Elzinga (770) himself jumped from #25 to #14, then back to #15 after Hawthorne Wolfe passed him last season.

“The Zinger” twice led the Wolves in scoring, rattling the rims for 337 and 309 points as a junior and senior, coming after he notched 124 as a sophomore while playing alongside Sahli.

Last night, after Robinett joined the hoops brotherhood, I was talking to current CHS coach Brad Sherman (#8 all-time on the scoring list) and Elzinga’s name came up.

So today I did my own Google search and was saddened to discover “The Zinger” passed away at age 83 in late August.

His obit mentions he battled heart disease for several years, and in our emails, he mentioned he was likely the only All-District player of his time who had survived polio just five years prior.

In our last exchange, Elzinga capped things thusly:

This has been a ball for me. So happy to share things with someone with your quirky interests.

It was my honor, sir.

Coupeville Sports has opened a door to the past and allowed me, and many others, to remind the world the 106-year tale of Wolf boys basketball is not a dead history, but an ever evolving one.

From Roy Armstrong in the ’20s to Sid Mudgett in the ’50s, from Del O’Shell in the ’80s to Oscar Liquidano in the 2010’s, every player who pulled on the uniform is part of something bigger than themselves.

Why do I write so much about stats — tracking them, name-dropping old school players as new-age players craft their own stories?

Because last night, along with Robinett’s debut, Wolf junior Logan Downes popped for a game-high 17 points, which moves him from 318 points to 335, and bumps him from #91 to #82 on the all-time chart.

That means he passes Jim Yake (331), Aaron Trumbull (330), Brad Brown (328), Charlie Tessaro (328), Utz Conard (326), Ian Smith (324), David Ford (323), Bob Rea (320) and Chris Marti (319) — all heavy hitters.

It doesn’t make their stories any less compelling, but Downes pursuit of excellence gives us a chance to remember what those other players meant to the Wolf program.

Whether you scored 1,137 career varsity points like Jeff Stone and Mike Bagby, or are one of the seven dudes to record exactly one point, you are part of the brotherhood.

Celebrate the past, cheer the present, look forward to the future.

Take a moment to toast “The Zinger,” then show up at the CHS gym tonight as Downes, Alex Murdy, and the current cast square off with Sedro-Woolley, ready to pen another chapter.

 

To read Jack Elzinga’s obit, pop over to:

https://www.gainesville.com/obituaries/pgai0286914

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