Sophomore Hawthorne Wolfe singed the nets for 33 points in a win Saturday, a game after netting 34. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)
Hawk was hot, but he had plenty of help.
Sophomore Hawthorne Wolfe knocked down 33 points Saturday, while numerous teammates, most prominently senior Koa Davison, came up huge as the Coupeville High School varsity boys basketball team led from start to finish while capturing its first win of the season.
The Wolves, who came within a point of having four players reach double-figure scoring, ran away from visiting Orcas Island to capture a 77-58 win in Coupeville’s home opener.
The non-conference victory, coming just days after CHS almost toppled 3A Oak Harbor in overtime, lifts the Wolves to 1-2.
Both of their losses have been super-close, but Saturday’s win was one in which the Wolves dominated for long stretches.
After torching Oak Harbor for 34, then equaling Larry Bird’s jersey number Saturday, Wolfe is the first Coupeville player in at least a decade-plus to record back-to-back 30+ point games at the varsity level.
While he came out sizzling against the Wildcats, going on a 12-0 run by himself on his way to scoring 15 in the first quarter, Wolfe came with a different flow against Orcas.
He had “just” 14 at the half Saturday, then went bonkers in the third quarter, throwing down 16 of Coupeville’s first 18 points in the frame.
But as dangerous as he was, slashing hard to the hoop, baffling the Vikings with tricky foot work, then popping outside for the occasional three-ball, Wolfe, as we mentioned, had plenty of help.
Davison, who has taken a huge step forward between his junior and senior season, scraped the boards clean all night, while also throwing down a career-high 15 points which included his own miracle shot.
It came as time ran down at the end of the third quarter, with Coupeville whipping the ball from player to player, looking for an opening before the clock hit all zeroes.
The ball came to rest, for a split second at least, in the hands of Davison, and he thrilled the weekend crowd by elevating and knocking down a three-ball which banked off the glass and hit pay-dirt a half of a second before the buzzer sounded.
The Wolves spent much of the night pulling off similarly-electrifying plays, as they controlled the action from the very first offensive set.
That ended with Mason Grove splashing home one of his three treys on the night, a ball which arced high in the air, then barely rippled the net as it hustled through on its way back to the floor.
Davison and Wolfe followed the three-ball with buckets on which they carved up the Orcas defense while crashing aggressively to the hoop, and, up 7-0, CHS was in sync and on fire.
Five different Coupeville players scored in the opening quarter, allowing the Wolves to head to the bench with a 15-6 lead and a nod of approval from head coach Brad Sherman.
While the visitors found their shooting touch in the second quarter, the home team matched them bucket for bucket (almost literally), with the two squads battling through an intense 21-21 frame.
Again the Wolves spread the offensive love out, but Sean Toomey-Stout, playing in front of siblings Cameron and Maya, was the king of the highlight reel.
Twisting in mid-air, tearing down rebounds, then muscling his way back up though the defense, the ever-springy one known as “The Torpedo” had a ferocity no Viking could match.
Down 36-27 at the half, Orcas got as close as 45-40 midway through the third, thanks to back-to-back three-balls, but Wolfe and Co. were having none of it.
The sweet-shootin’ sophomore could not miss in the third, and every bucket came on a different move guaranteed to give his fan club the vapors.
Wolfe started his 16-point run in the third with a three-ball, then got creative, mixing little runners with quick slashes to the hoop, taking the blows and never cracking as he used both hands to slap home bucket after bucket.
The Orcas defense couldn’t stop him, and the few moments in which they slowed him down, he smartly gave the ball up and let someone else be The Man, whether it was Ulrik Wells pounding away inside, or Grove firing rainbows from outside.
Up 16 at the end of three quarters, the Wolves traded three-balls to start the fourth, with Wolfe notching his final points on a play set up by a Tucker Hall rebound.
After that, it was the “Koa Being Big Time” Hour, as Davison went off for eight of his 15 with four impressive plays in the paint.
One was set up by an entry pass from Wolfe, the other on a kick-out from Toomey-Stout, but on all four the lanky senior had to finish while being pounded on by the Vikings.
Each time, Davison came up big, showcasing a ton of heart under duress.
“Koa played big tonight, but he’s played like that consistently over all three games,” Sherman said. “He’s working hard on the boards for us, and I’m very happy to see it.”
The Wolf head man praised his entire team, especially for the way they bounced back after being nipped in overtime by Oak Harbor.
“I’m extra proud of the way we came out tonight, and immediately took control,” Sherman said. “I liked the way we got to the basket, and the fact we came out so strongly in the third, which is something we had a bit of a problem with in the past.”
With his 33 point explosion, Wolfe continues to fly upwards on the CHS boys career scoring chart.
He passed another 13 former players Saturday, including quality guys such as Joel Walstad, Jordan Ford, and Tim Quenzer, and now sits at #119 all-time just three games into his sophomore campaign.
Coupeville is playing its 103rd season of boys basketball, and yet the precocious Wolfe, with 231 points and counting, is just 47 points from cracking the top 100.
Davison finished with 15 Saturday, while Toomey-Stout banked in 12, Grove knocked down nine, Jered Brown rattled the rim for six, and Wells capped things with a bucket.
Gavin Knoblich, Hall, Jacobi Pilgrim, and Jean Lund-Olsen also saw floor time for the Wolves, who have a busy week coming up, with games against Friday Harbor, Concrete, and The Bush School.
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