Wolf roundball gurus (l to r) Jaylen Nitta, Alex Evans, and RayLynn Ratcliff get their moment in the spotlight. (Photos by JohnsPhotos.net)
Maybe Coupeville needs a fancy bus.
Granite Falls, and its 10,000 or so players, made the trek to Whidbey Island Tuesday in style, then went on a rebounding rampage en route to sweeping three middle school hoops contests.
While CMS put up a good fight, especially in the final quarter of the middle game, the Wolves weren’t able to corral their visitors, who played with a nice intensity.
A particular shout-out to Tigers 6th grader Jax Ashworth, who warms my ’80s NBA-loving heart by proving his motor has no shut off.
At the close of the day’s third and final game, things got scrappy, with Wolves Lincoln Wagner and Deacon Frost coming up with strong defensive plays.
Wagner crashed to the floor, then held on for dear life during a battle for the ball which went on, and on, and on some more, the refs swallowing their whistles as they watched the preteen warriors settle things mano a mano.
After Frost stuffed a Granite shot at one end of the floor, it was time for Ashworth to bring the heat.
Hurtling from end to end, and not worrying about the score, he launched himself airborne and crushed a Wolf shot attempt.
Ripping his foe’s head off and sending the ball into orbit, Ashworth might have earned a foul, but he did it in the best way possible.
By reviving sweet memories of Dennis Rodman and the Detroit Pistons back when the Bad Boys used to throttle Michael Jordan on every play.
Yes, the moment was a negative one for Coupeville, the school I’m primarily writing about, but dang, give Ashworth some love.
Now, we just need to track his parents down and talk about the whole moving to Whidbey Island before high school thing…
Anyways, back to how the day played out, with no more gushing about the guys in the road uniforms.
Coupeville points to a bright future.
Level 1:
Coupeville was playing without two key guys — Chayse Van Velkinburgh and Liam Lawson — which put the ball in the hands of an inexperienced playmaker.
The Wolves had their moments, and consistently got to the free throw line, but a huge rebounding deficit proved to be too much to overcome in a 53-19 loss.
Nick Laska, who fought like a lion in the paint against the Tigers, knocked down Coupeville’s first bucket off an inbounds pass from Carson Grove.
Unfortunately, it would be the only first quarter field goal for the Wolves, with CMS scraping together the rest of their scoring at the free throw line.
Trailing 16-6 at the first break, Coupeville briefly cut the deficit to 18-10 after Laska and Grove broke the field goal drought to start the second quarter.
Granite reclaimed control of the game, however, ending the half on a 10-1 run in which most of its buckets came via runners in the lane and putbacks on offensive boards.
The visitors continued to stretch the lead out in the second half, with 8-0 and 10-0 surges tough to overcome.
Wolf 8th grader Nathan Niewald nailed a three-ball on the move in the fourth, accounting for his first points of the season and getting a wave of applause from his fellow CMS students in the stands.
Laska led the Wolves with a team-high nine points, while Grove rattled the rim for four, and Niewald and Calvin Kappes each banked in three.
Kamden Ratcliff, Khanor Jump, Trenton Thule, Treyshawn Stewart, and Jackson Sollars all saw floor time for Coupeville as well.
Level 2:
The Wolves scored half their points in the fourth quarter, using a 10-4 run to cut the final margin to 33-20 in a game closer than the score might indicate.
Making things better, CMS got points in the final frame from five different players.
Jayden Little scorched the net on a three-ball, while Jump, Xander Beaman, and Thule each added a bucket, and Stewart tickled the twines on a free throw.
Granite jumped out to a 14-4 lead after one, pushed ahead to a 20-8 halftime advantage, then made life difficult for the Wolves with a 9-2 tear in the third frame.
Coupeville’s best basket before the fourth quarter?
It came from Little, who ripped the ball out of the hands of a rival player, then split two other defenders as he crashed to the hoop for a swooping layup.
Little finished with eight points to top the Wolves, with Beaman, Diesel Eck, Jump, Stewart, Jonah Weyl, and Thule all notching two points apiece.
Lincoln Wagner and Maverick Walling rounded out the roster, providing hustle on defense.
Level 3:
Coupeville won the second quarter (10-8) and came out even in the fourth (6-6) but ran into trouble in the first (18-4) and third (14-0) frames.
That made for a 46-20 loss, though one which came in a game where, as mentioned before, both teams brought the heat, old school style.
The Wolves best stand came in the second quarter and was keyed by Johnathan Jacobsen.
One of the few CMS players to hit the boards with a vengeance, the high-energy 8th grader also knocked down a team-high eight points and delivered the day’s most energetic celebration.
Beaman almost matched him, dropping a few dance moves after hitting a jumper, ignoring the score on the board while getting caught up in the excitement of the moment.
Wagner and Beaman both finished with four points in support of Jacobsen, while Walling and Jacob Lujan rounded out the attack with a bucket apiece.
Eck, Mario Martinez, Frost, River Simpson and Aiden Wheat also scrapped for the Wolves while CMS fans (or at least those sitting right next to me) maintained a solid 285 on the decibel meter.
What’s next:
With the holiday season upon us, the Wolves don’t play again until next Tuesday, Nov. 28, when they host Northshore Christian. Tipoff is 3:15 PM.
After that comes a home bout with Sultan (Nov. 30), two tangoes with South Whidbey (Dec. 4 in Langley and Dec. 11 in Cow Town), then the finale Dec. 13 at Lakewood.
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