The stands are different colors in every new road gym, but Coupeville wins in them all. (Michelle Glass photo)
It’s the little things.
A senior-heavy Coupeville High School varsity boys’ basketball team has shot out to a 5-1 record, with all the wins coming on the road, by doing the sorts of things which warm a coach’s heart.
Like taking offensive charges, grabbing rebounds in traffic, and staying composed when tempers start to fray.
That veteran mindset was on full display Friday on Friday Harbor, as the Wolves overcame a malfunctioning scoreboard and a chippy Wolverines squad to claim a 63-55 win.
The victory lifts CHS to 1-0 in Northwest 2B/1B League play, putting it a half-game off of early frontrunner Mount Vernon Christian (2-0), which comes to Coupeville Jan. 19 for a royal rumble.
Friday’s tense tilt lived up to expectations, as something weird always seems to happen when the Wolves travel to the outer islands.
This time it was a badly misfiring scoreboard which went kaput, momentarily roared to life to the musical strains of The Final Countdown, then crashed again.
That left everyone guessing as to the score, the team fouls, and the time left to play, before Friday Harbor finally got the hamster back up to full speed on the treadmill which allegedly powers its board.
Wandering along in a game with a sort of streetball feel for much of the first half, Coupeville got three-balls from Logan Downes and Chase Anderson early but trailed 12-8 at the first break.
Cue a defensive surge, as the steal-happy Wolves got up in people’s grills and dominated for much of the second quarter to reclaim the lead.
Hunter Bronec, having the best offensive performance of his varsity hoops career, crashed hard to the hoop for back-to-back buckets, before Downes started picking pockets and turning what he found into breakaway layups.
Friday Harbor’s defense tried to throttle Coupeville’s main scoring option?
He promptly kicked the ball to running mate Ryan Blouin, who sank the first of his three treys on the night, each long range bomb a dart that deflated the Wolverines hopes and dreams.
Frustrating and flummoxing their foes, the Wolves ran the lead out to 30-20, then gave a bit back right before the half to head into the locker room up 30-25.
The third quarter was vintage “Let’s make Brad Sherman’s goatee go grey,” as his team surged to a 14-point lead, gave back half of that advantage, then re-stretched things back out to 50-39 by the end of the frame.
Cole White was a one-man highlight reel in the quarter, twisting and turning in midair while being banged around, yet still dropping in clutch buckets.
When the shot wasn’t there, the senior point guard was going all John Stockton on us, flinging an outlet pass from end to end, dropping the ball onto Anderson’s waiting fingertips as he flew by the Wolverines.
Coupeville’s seniors are built for this moment. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)
The tension in the joint noticeably raised in the second half, as both teams, while not playing dirty, did get more elbowy and “was that my knee that hit your groin?”
The refs stopped things to lecture both teams after a push and shove exchange briefly threatened to become more, and it seemed to work, as nobody got a technical or dropped a haymaker.
Instead, Coupeville reserved its kill shots for good old-fashioned hardnosed plays which were smart, and well-timed.
Clinging to a 54-50 lead, the Wolves got a HUGE rebound and putback from Hurlee Bronec, who completed the play by calmly flicking a free throw through the net while staring down the entire island.
Mere seconds later, Downes, seemingly drifting aimlessly, suddenly shot forward, slicing between snoozing defenders, taking an inbounds pass and slapping home the gut shot that put Friday Harbor out of its misery.
Sort of like in Of Mice and Men, when George caps Lennie behind the barn while he’s still rambling on about the rabbits.
Just with a hardwood twist to things, and no actual bloodshed.
While Friday Harbor did hit a three-ball right at the buzzer to cut the final margin to single digits, it was much too little, much too late.
Like Lennie, the Wolverines ain’t coming back from that walk in the woods.
Now, Coupeville gets a few unexpected days off, after South Whidbey had to postpone its trip to Cow Town Saturday due to a lack of eligible players.
The Wolves will get that elusive home game, but not until next Tuesday, Dec. 19, when Forks make the long trek out from the deep, dark woods.
While they rest up, fine tune their games, and possibly go read Of Mice and Men for the first time, the Wolves can also marinate in being part of history.
With his game-high 25 points Friday, Downes reaches a new personal milestone.
Now with 920 points and counting, he passes Pete Petrov (917) to claim 7th on the CHS career scoring list and is within range of Bill Riley (934) for 6th.
And Downes wasn’t the only Wolf to hit a round number, as Nick Guay cracked the 150-point club on a second quarter putback.
Nick Guay has deliveries to make, and the basket awaits. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)
Coupeville got points from seven different players, with Blouin (9), Anderson (8), Hunter Bronec (8), White (6), Hurlee Bronec (4), and Guay (3) also scoring.
William Davidson was the lone Wolf on the floor not to tally a point, but the senior big man came up big in those coach-pleasing intangibles we mentioned earlier, such as when he made a superb pass to set up Hunter Bronec for a bucket.
Coupeville Sports 