Hawthorne Wolfe dropped 21 points Saturday as Coupeville ran Port Townsend off the floor. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)
It was exactly what Brad Sherman was looking for from his team.
Ending a long, tough week with an explosion of joy, the Coupeville High School boys varsity basketball squad put together one of its best games of the season Saturday night.
Playing for the fourth time in six days, the Wolves picked up 57 points from their Three Musketeers, played inspired second-half defense, and cruised past visiting Port Townsend 79-66.
The non-conference win snaps a five-game losing skid for Coupeville and lifts it to 5-10 on the season heading into the stretch run.
The Wolves, who are fighting for one of the final two playoff spots from the North Sound Conference, have three regular season games left on the schedule.
After back-to-back home games against South Whidbey (Jan. 28) and Granite Falls (Jan. 31), CHS travels to Sultan Feb. 4.
If the Wolves can replicate how they played Saturday, they’ll punch that postseason ticket.
Facing off with a RedHawks team which has given it major trouble in recent years, Coupeville came out firing on all cylinders.
The Wolves got balanced scoring, with sophomores Xavier Murdy and Hawthorne Wolfe dropping in 22 and 21 points respectively, while senior gunner Mason Grove added 14.
But it was the team’s play on the other end of the floor which brought the biggest smile to Sherman’s face.
“Defensively, it was a really great night for us,” the CHS coach said. “The kids responded in a big way after a tough week, and played with a lot of scrappiness and energy.”
Coming off a week in which they had to face hot-shooting Cedar Park Christian twice, wrapped around a rumble with state title contender King’s, Saturday’s match-up was Coupeville’s best shot at garnering a win.
Achieving one of Sherman’s top goals — playing four solid quarters, with no letdowns — the Wolves went toe-to-toe with Port Townsend from the opening tip.
RedHawk senior Noa Montoya played out of his mind in the game’s first eight minutes, banging home 16 of his game-high 27 points, while hitting one eye-popping shot after another.
But, as good as he was in the early going, Coupeville slowed Port Townsend’s main man after the first break, mainly by making him work like a devil to get his shot off.
The Wolves responded to Montoya’s hail of shots by spreading out the offensive love, with five different players rattling home a bucket in the opening frame.
Wolfe, Grove, and Gavin Knoblich all nailed three-balls, with Wolfe’s trey being set up by a sizzlin’ cross-court pass from Grove which threaded its way between multiple defenders on its journey.
Coupeville pulled within a single point twice in the second quarter, but couldn’t seem to get over the hump, eventually falling behind 40-33.
Enter Ulrik Wells, and key the comeback music.
The CHS big man pulled off a three-point play the hard way, banking in a short runner, then adding a free throw, and the fire was lit.
Back-to-back shiver-inducing plays from a rampaging Murdy — a three-ball on the move, then a steal and breakaway bucket — really kicked things into gear, and Coupeville closed the half on a 13-0 run.
Even with top rebounder Sean Toomey-Stout sidelined with first-half foul trouble, the Wolves crashed the boards hard, with Koa Davison capping things with a put-back off of an offensive board he ripped free from a rival’s hands.
The joy ride continued into the third quarter, with Murdy popping another trey, then slipping a pair of free throws through the twines.
With 18 straight points on the board and their biggest lead at 51-40, the Wolves looked golden.
Then, they stumbled for a second or two.
Montoya slipped away from his defender for a blink of an eye, arcing a three-ball to pay dirt, and Port Townsend was suddenly off on its own 13-0 tear, reclaiming the lead and the momentum.
To which the Wolves said, not today, my man, not today.
Grove made the net whisper sweet nothings with an elegant trey from the top, Davison netted a free throw, then Wolfe let the lightning erupt from his fingertips.
Scoring Coupeville’s final 10 points of the quarter, which set off his boisterous fan section comprised of autograph-seeking middle school hoops stars, Wolfe staked CHS to a lead it would never lose.
Putting the exclamation point on things in the fourth, Coupeville pulled off another 9-0 run, with all the buckets fueled by ferocious defensive stops.
Jered Brown, harassing the Port Townsend ballhandler every step of the way, bumped him, poked the ball loose, then yanked the orb back off the floor and shot down court for a game-icing layup.
Not to be outdone, Toomey-Stout corralled a madly-skipping loose ball, twirled, and drained a three-ball a moment later, driving the final stake through Port Townsend’s collective heart.
On the sideline, Sherman nodded, a hoops guru happy to see his plans play out as drawn up.
“Just a really, really strong team win, which should give us the momentum we need for those final league games,” he said.
All nine Wolves who hit the floor scored Saturday, with Murdy’s 22 a career-best for him at the varsity level.
Along with Wolfe (21) and Grove (14), CHS got points out of Davison (6), Knoblich (5), Toomey-Stout (3), Brown (3), Wells (3), and Jacobi Pilgrim (2).
The 79 points are a season-high for the Wolves, topping the 77 they notched against Orcas Island, and, with their performances, Wolfe and Grove continue to assault the CHS boys hoops career scoring chart.
With 366 points and counting, Wolfe jumped from a tie for #71 to sole possession of #67 on a list which encompasses 103 seasons, while Grove, with 341 points, rises from #81 to #74.
Among the former greats the duo passed Saturday were Glenn Losey, Ethan Spark, Aaron Trumbull, and Robin Larson.
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