Alex Murdy rampaged for 20 points Saturday as Coupeville improved to 13-0 on the season. (Photos by JohnsPhotos.net)
History achieved.
Three times in the last 105 years, a Coupeville High School varsity boys basketball team started the season 12-0, only to stumble in unlucky game #13.
Not so for the 2021-2022 Wolves, who have done what the 1969-1970, 1976-1977, and 1996-1997 teams couldn’t do.
Holding off a feisty Granite Falls squad on the road Saturday, Coupeville escaped with a 70-62 win.
The non-conference victory over a 1A school which has been a longtime rival gives Brad Sherman’s squad — the only unbeaten 2B boys team in the state — a 13-0 mark heading into the home stretch of the regular season.
Left on the schedule are Northwest 2B/1B League tilts at Friday Harbor (Feb. 4) and La Conner (Feb. 10), before a likely appearance at the district tournament.
Coupeville once again demonstrated Saturday why they are so dangerous this year.
This group of Wolves doesn’t break under pressure, it can beat you from inside or outside, and it doesn’t matter which five players are on the floor at any given time.
As the Age of Coronavirus plays out, the state’s edict to test high school hoops players three times a week has left coaches to shuffle their rosters.
Saturday, the Wolves were down two varsity players, but as in every game before when other athletes were sidelined, the remaining group stepped up and seized the moment.
Facing a physical Granite Falls team which also hit the three-ball — at least in the early going — Coupeville didn’t blow its foe out.
But a win, by eight points or 48 points, is still a win. Get in, get the W, and get out.
Wolf senior Caleb Meyer, his curly locks glistening under the gym lights, got things started with a thunderous block on a Granite shot, and we were off.
The two teams traded baskets early, but a 13-2 run midway through the opening frame helped CHS open up a 17-13 lead after one quarter.
The Wolves kept Granite guessing, with Hawthorne Wolfe rippling the net on a long three-ball, before Meyer crashed end-to-end, taking a rebound all the way in for a bucket at the other end.
The biggest play, however, was a simple one, as Xavier Murdy got himself in perfect position on defense to draw a charge from a rampaging Tiger, sending a jolt of energy through the Coupeville faithful who traveled on a weekend night.
Cole White exploded off the bench to knock down back-to-back buckets to open the second quarter, but Granite hung tough.
The Tigers reclaimed the lead for a hot second at 27-26, before an Alex Murdy free throw tied things up, and then a wham-bam play staked CHS to a 29-27 lead at the half.
Logan Martin, rumblin’ down low in the paint, started things by coming up with a loose ball, before flicking an outlet pass to White.
The lanky sophomore led the charge down floor, sucked the defense in, then spun the ball to Grady Rickner — who was racing on his right — setting up a layup for his senior teammate.
Grady Rickner came up big on both ends of the floor.
Coupeville, as it has done so often this season, looked like it was blowing things wide open coming out of halftime.
Four Wolves combined to rattle the rims during a 21-9 third quarter surge, pushing the lead all the way out to 50-36 with eight minutes to play.
Wolfe led the way, lofting a pair of three-balls from the parking lot as part of an eight-point run, while Meyer slapped home six in support.
The rampaging Murdy siblings, who combined to toss in the other seven third-quarter points, teamed up on a pretty brother-to-brother bucket, with Xavier setting up Alex, and things looked safe.
But Granite had a few tricks still to play, as the Tigers rang up 26 points in a furious fourth-quarter rally.
Coupeville kept the lead right around 10, until Alex Murdy went out late after taking a rough tumble on a drive to the hoop and Wolfe fouled out on a questionable (at best) call.
A Tiger three-ball cut the lead all the way down to 66-60, but Granite also shot itself in the foot multiple times in the final moments.
Two missed free throws, an air ball on another trey, and a pair of turnovers forced by the aggressive Coupeville defense kept the hosts from staging a full comeback.
The Wolves missed some of their own free throws down the stretch, giving Granite a chance to dream, but converted when they needed it most.
Xavier Murdy, who joined the 400-point career scoring club Saturday, drained three of four charity shots in the final seconds to drive the final stake home.
As usual, the Wolves put together a very-balanced scoring attack, with Alex Murdy powering his way to a game-high 18 points.
Rickner kissed the glass for 16, Meyer drained 12, Wolfe made the nets jump for 11, while Xavier Murdy (9) and White (4) rounded out the offense.
It marked the ninth time in 13 games this season that Coupeville has topped the 70-point barrier.
After tossing in 11 points at Granite Falls, Hawthorne Wolfe has 761 for his career and moves to 16th place on the CHS boys career scoring chart.
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