Caleb Meyer and Co. pushed top-seeded Kalama hard in their state playoff opener. (Photos by JohnsPhotos.net)
It’s a ding in the armor, but not a fatal blow.
Friday night, the Coupeville High School boys basketball team absorbed its first loss of the season, but the dream of bringing home a trophy from the state tournament still lives.
The Wolves, making their first appearance at the big dance in 34 years, fell 59-54 to Kalama, the top-ranked 2B team, in a game played at Battle Ground.
Coupeville, which used a blistering defense to spark a late 10-0 run to almost pull out the win, falls to 16-1, while Kalama improves to 20-1.
The Chinooks only loss this season came in their season opener, when a chunk of the team was still AWOL after winning a state football title.
Both teams advance to the next level of the state tourney, set for the Spokane Arena Mar. 2-5.
With the win, Kalama advances to the quarterfinals, while Coupeville will play either Lake Roosevelt or River View Mar. 2 in a loser-out game.
The top six teams at state bring home trophies.
The first round of state, played at “regional” sites, features four loser-out games pitting teams ranked #9-#16 in the draw, resulting in 12 teams advancing to Spokane.
Seeded #8, Coupeville was assured of playing at least two games, regardless of how the Kalama game went down.
For a team repping a program which last played at state in 1988 and won its first league title in 20 years and first district title in 52 seasons this year, the Wolves showed no signs of nerves.
Caleb Meyer drilled the bottom out of the net on a pull-up three-ball to open the scoring, and Coupeville played even with Kalama for much of the first half.
With the refs calling just three fouls total in the first half — a lesson for the folks wearing black and white striped shirts in our region — both teams got to play a fast-and-physical style.
The Wolves often looked quicker, while the Chinooks are a rugged bunch which hits the glass with a cold fury.
Twice Kalama nudged ahead in the first frame, only to see Xavier Murdy knot things right back up with three-balls which flipped the net high as the ball slid through.
The second trey was set up by a zippy pass off of Hawthorne Wolfe’s fingertips, with the scoreboard flicking to 11-11 as X-Man hit paydirt.
Trailing 13-11 at the first break, Coupeville put together a 7-0 run midway through the second quarter to pull back in front at 23-21.
All seven of the points came from the Maraudin’ Murdy boys, with younger brother Alex jumping in to aid Xavier.
Xavier Murdy topped all scorers Friday with 24 points.
Unfortunately for Coupeville, its only real weak stretch followed almost immediately.
Pounding away down low, Kalama used a variety of short-range shots to close the half on a 10-0 spurt, walking to the locker room with a solid 31-23 advantage.
But the Wolves weren’t ready to go away quietly. Cause that’s not their style.
Kalama, playing with precision and catching a ride on the rugged shoulders of Jackson Esary, who banged home 23 points, tried repeatedly to pull away.
Each time, however, Coupeville denied the Chinooks.
Facing a 14-point deficit midway through the third, the Wolves stormed back to cut it down to seven, thanks to a whole lot of Murdy boys and some gut-check buckets from sophomore Logan Downes.
Then, after Kalama stretched the margin back out to 13, CHS coach Brad Sherman unleashed a full-court press to fuel Coupeville’s biggest run.
Down 57-44, the Wolves forced multiple turnovers, turning the extra chances into a magical 10-0 explosion which set the Chinooks back on their heels.
Grady Rickner got things started with a sweet lil’ jumper, before Meyer nailed a free throw and Alex Murdy converted off of an offensive rebound.
That set up Xavier Murdy to seize the spotlight, as the perpetual ball of energy capped a game-high 24-point performance with two of the biggest baskets of his prep career.
First he knocked down a shot in the paint, but not before Downes punched the ball free and Alex Murdy snatched it away from the Chinooks, feeding his brother with a pinpoint pass.
With the Coupeville fans — who made a 400+ mile round-trip — shaking the bleachers, the Wolves forced Kalama to throw the ball away on the next possession, followed by Xavier Murdy getting magical.
X-Man’s three-ball went up, hit the rim, popped straight up, kissed the heavens, then tumbled back through the net, cutting the margin to 57-54 and setting off pandemonium.
But give Kalama credit.
A fair amount of their players knows what it’s like to win a gridiron state championship, and they emerged from a very-tough district tourney after winning back-to-back games in the final seconds.
So, it’s not surprising the Chinooks held up under pressure in the final 37 seconds, netting two free throws to make it a two-possession game, while keeping Coupeville from hitting one (or two) more big shots.
The Murdy boys combined to drop 38 on Kalama, with Xavier (24) and Alex (14) both reaching personal milestones along the way.
With 201 career points, and counting, Alex — Coupeville’s main defensive dynamo — cracks the 200-point club, joining uncle Allen Black (305) and big bro Xavier (472).
X-Man, meanwhile, moves into a tie with Pat O’Grady at #51 on the CHS boys career scoring chart, which dates back 105 seasons.
Downes chipped in Friday with eight points, Meyer and Rickner both banked in four, and Wolfe, Logan Martin, and Cole White saw floor time for Coupeville.
State tourney bracket:
http://www.nw1a2bathletics.com/m2/tourn.php?act=vt&tid=3462
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