Logan Martin scored 11 of his team-high 21 points in the fourth quarter Tuesday, as Coupeville and South Whidbey’s JV teams waged a war. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)
The young guns put on a show.
Battling down to the final shot Tuesday, the Coupeville High School JV boys basketball squad came within a shot of sweeping its season series with arch-rival South Whidbey.
But it wasn’t to be, as the visiting Falcons gained a measure of revenge, scoring the game’s final six points to pull out a 59-56 thriller.
Playing with three varsity swing players on the floor, to none for Coupeville, South Whidbey got payback for a 73-62 loss to the Wolves in Langley two weeks ago.
With the loss, CHS slips to 4-3 in North Sound Conference action, 9-6 overall.
Up next is Coupeville’s home finale, Friday against Granite Falls, then a trip to Sultan Feb. 4.
Tuesday’s titanic tango was knotted at 10-10 after one quarter of play, then saw both teams exchange leads to set up a frantic finale.
Up 40-36 headed into the fourth, Coupeville hit a brief dry spell, rimming out a series of shots and allowing South Whidbey to kick off the frame on a 9-2 run.
The Wolves weren’t dead, however, just hibernating, and they leaned on the scoring punch of Logan Martin to make things interesting down the stretch.
The sophomore gunner went off for 11 of his team-high 21 points in the final frame, hitting a three-ball to force a tie at 45-45, before netting three free throws to push his squad ahead 48-47.
Martin wasn’t the only Wolf with a magical shooting touch, as running mate Alex Jimenez drained a trey of his own to keep Coupeville ahead.
With seven lead changes in the fourth quarter, both teams had their opportunities, and the Wolves seemed to be in control when Martin broke free from the pack to scorch the net for one final three-ball.
That pushed Coupeville up 56-53 with under 90 seconds to play.
Unfortunately for the Wolf faithful, it would also be the final shot their team would hit, as South Whidbey used a layup to get within one, then knocked down a pull-up jumper to claim the lead with 20 ticks left on the clock.
CHS had a chance to reclaim the lead, but couldn’t buy a bucket, or a break.
A Wolf three-ball skidded just wide of pay dirt, then, after South Whidbey missed two free throws with four seconds to play, the Falcons made the play of the game.
Soaring high above the crowd, a guy in blue and white pulled down the offensive rebound off of the second clanked freebie, giving the visitors two more chances at the line.
This time both shots dropped cleanly through the net, pushing the final margin out to three and forcing the Wolves to launch a final shot from way beyond half court.
It missed as the buzzer sounded, ending one of the better games of the season.
The two teams had swapped field goals in the early going, with Coupeville scoring the final two buckets of the first quarter to knot things at 10-10.
Both baskets came off of smart passes, with Daniel Olson breaking the press and firing a BB to Miles Davidson for a layup, followed by Sage Downes picking off a pass and launching an outlet lob to a streaking Grady Rickner.
While South Whidbey claimed the lead in the second frame, Downes kept the Wolves close, rifling a pair of three-balls through the net right before the half.
He also showed a nimble side to his defensive game, twice sliding perfectly into position to draw offensive charging fouls on rampaging Falcons.
Coupeville snatched the lead back midway through the third quarter, with Martin raining down a three-ball on the move, then coming back around to snag a rebound and put it back up and in the next trip down the floor.
The Wolves hit the glass with great intensity, with Martin and a nicely riled-up TJ Rickner leading the charge.
Martin’s 21-point barrage paced a balanced offensive attack, as nine different Wolves tallied a bucket or better.
Downes banked home 12, Olson popped for eight, Grady Rickner netted four, and Jimenez collected three, while TJ Rickner, Davidson, Cody Roberts, and Chris Cernick chipped in with two apiece.
Andrew Aparicio was the lone Wolf not to score this time around, but contributed to the cause with hustle and defense.
