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Posts Tagged ‘Gabe Wynn’

Wynn, Downes won’t lose easy!!

Posted in Boys Basketball, tagged , , , , , on January 3, 2017| Leave a Comment »

Hunter Downes was a beast on the boards Tuesday night. (John Fisken photo)

Hunter Downes was a beast on the boards Tuesday night. (John Fisken photo)

What could have been.

For two-and-a-half quarters, the Coupeville High School boys’ basketball squad went toe-to-toe Tuesday with first-place Port Townsend.

Unfortunately, a cold-shooting first quarter and a late fourth-quarter surge by the visiting RedHawks doomed the Wolves, as they fell 60-39.

The loss drops Coupeville to 1-3 in Olympic League play, 1-10 overall.

With the defeat, the Wolves slide into a tie with Klahowya for third-place in their four-team league, trailing Port Townsend (3-0) and two-time defending champ Chimacum (2-1).

The top three teams earn a trip to the postseason.

There’s still plenty of games ahead, with five more league tilts including the third, and final showdown with Klahowya Jan. 24.

The Wolves and Eagles have split their first two meetings this season, both winning on their home courts.

Coupeville opened Tuesday night’s match-up with just seven active varsity players (or six-and-a-half, if you count Cameron Toomey-Stout valiantly playing through a painful back injury).

It wasn’t the Wolves depth however, but their cold shooting touch, which put them in an early hole.

Unable to only get one bucket to drop — a Gabe Wynn layup off of a long outlet pass — the Wolves went to the first break down 12-2.

Detrius Kellsall stung CHS early, dropping a three-ball from the left side, then making off with a steal for a breakaway bucket.

Port Townsend, a patient team that plays under control and keeps the ball zipping from player to player, made very few mistakes all night.

When Coupeville was at its best, it was because the Wolves were forcing the situation, not because the RedHawks were giving anything away.

Down 14-2 early in the second, CHS put together its most sustained charge, twice cutting the lead down to eight.

The second came when Hunter Smith made a rampaging charge at the hoop, then reared back at the last second and swished a runner over Kelsall’s outstretched hand.

But again, the patience of the RedHawks blunted Coupeville time and again, as Port Townsend found a basket here, a bucket there to keep the lead always hovering just around double digits.

Wynn knocked down the shot of the year, nailing a trey as he got knocked on his rear by two defenders, but as soon as the Wolves pulled to within nine, the visitors had a reply.

This time it was gunner Seth Spencer, hitting back-to-back third quarter three-balls that gutted Wolf Nation.

The closest Coupeville could get in the fourth was 38-27, after Smith swished a pair of free throws to open the quarter, then Port Townsend started to finally pull away.

With Berkley Hill and Kaiden Parcher dropping eight apiece in the final eight minutes, the RedHawks prevented Coupeville from getting back-to-back buckets down the stretch and made the final score a bit deceiving.

The Wolves fought hard until the end, highlighted by junior Hunter Downes, who ripped offensive rebounds out of the hands of rival players on three successive trips down the floor.

“I’m impressed with Hunter Downes, he worked hard all night,” said Coupeville coach Anthony Smith.

“I liked our effort, if not all our results,” he added. “My guys will battle.”

Wynn paced Coupeville, raining down nine of his game-high 18 in the final quarter, while Hunter Smith banked home seven and Ethan Spark tickled the twines for five.

Brian Shank (4), Toomey-Stout (3) and Downes (2) chipped in, while Ariah Bepler turned in a strong defensive effort for the Wolves.

Port Townsend spread its scoring load out, with Kelsall (13), Hill (12) and Parcher (11) all hitting double digits.

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Shoot-out at the Coupeville corral!!

Posted in Boys Basketball, tagged , , , , , on December 17, 2016| Leave a Comment »

Gabe Wynn scorched the nets for a season-high 20 Saturday in a loss to Vashon. (John Fisken photo)

   Gabe Wynn scorched the nets for a season-high 20 Saturday in a loss to Vashon. (John Fisken photo)

Offense was not the issue.

Despite playing on back-to-back nights, after a long, late trip to Bellevue Friday, the undermanned Coupeville High School boys’ basketball squad put up its season-high in points Saturday night.

Unfortunately, visiting Vashon Island went a bit bonkers from behind the arc and rode 11 three-balls to a 75-62 non-conference victory.

The loss, which came despite Wolf captains Hunter Smith (25) and Gabe Wynn (20) combining for 45 points, drops the Wolves to 1-7 on the season.

Coupeville has a road game at Concrete Tuesday, then gets a nine-day Christmas break from competition.

The Wolves didn’t get in from Bellevue until 12:30 AM Saturday morning, and, with just eight players available against Vashon, had to push through tired legs and minds.

It seemed to sting them in the early going, as Vashon roared out to a 19-8 lead at the first break.

CHS senior Brian Shank was doing his best to counteract the Pirates attack, dropping seven points in the opening quarter.

It was blunted by three treys from Vashon, though, as the Pirates broke Coupeville’s zone with red-hot shooting and closed the quarter on a 12-1 spurt.

The Wolves mixed things up, extending their zone, then switching to man-to-man, but Vashon seized any little opening and was ruthless in torching the nets.

The lead grew to 40-24 at the half and 59-39 after three, before cresting at 25 early in the final period.

To their credit, the Wolves put together their most sustained run of the night after that, cutting the lead in half and preventing Vashon from ever being able to pull its starters.

Smith poured in 14 of his team-high 25 down the stretch, hitting five buckets, a trey and a free throw.

“Give credit to my guys — they worked hard and never quit — they just got tired,” said Coupeville coach Anthony Smith. “My team battled.”

Wynn did most of his damage in the middle two quarters, ringing up 15 of his season-high 20 in the second and third. He paced CHS with three long bombs.

Shank, who battled through foul trouble after his early hot start, finished with nine, while Hunter Downes slid seven through the twines and Cameron Toomey-Stout banged home a free throw to round out the scoring.

Ethan Spark, Kyle Rockwell and Ariah Bepler also saw floor time for the very-thin Wolves.

Vashon was led by Casper Forest, who netted 26, and Jacob Chavez, who hit for 18. The duo combined to nail nine three-balls.

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Call it a split decision!!

Posted in Boys Basketball, tagged , , , , , on December 9, 2016| Leave a Comment »

Gabe Wynn dropped in a team-high 14 Friday in a loss at Klahowya. (John Fisken photo)

   Gabe Wynn dropped in a team-high 14 Friday in a loss at Klahowya. (John Fisken photo)

Two boys basketball programs in need of a win ran headlong into each other Friday night, but only one came away satisfied.

Sparked by the hot shooting of Sawyer Snope and John Hartford, Klahowya roared out to a big early lead, then squashed any late comeback hopes to send Coupeville back to Whidbey on the wrong end of a 48-37 score.

The loss drops the Wolves to 0-4 overall, 0-2 in 1A Olympic League play.

For Klahowya, which entered the night 0-4 under first-year head coach Bryan Thoemke, the victory was huge.

Coming off a 1-19 season, the Eagles were looking for any signs of progress.

And they found it on a night when Klahowya was one of the few schools to host a game, thanks to the snow that blanketed Western Washington.

The Eagle girls, who were supposed to travel to Whidbey, didn’t make the trip.

In fairness, there was a lot less snow in Coupeville, which is why the Wolf boys had no problem getting on a bus and ankling out of town.

Once off the bus, though, they had to jump right into things as the varsity played first. And they appeared to have left their shooting touch back on The Rock.

Other than a pair of free throws from Hunter Smith, Coupeville struggled to mount any kind of offensive flow in the first quarter, falling behind 16-2 at the first break.

Hartford came out on fire, knocking down nine in the opening period, then Snope took over.

The only Eagle to score in every quarter, he banked home 12 of his 19 in the first half as Klahowya stretched the lead out to 31-14 at the break.

Something changed, at least for a time, in the third, as Coupeville finally warmed up.

With Gabe Wynn throwing down nine of his team-high 14 in the quarter, CHS controlled things to a 14-5 tune, slicing the lead down to eight heading into the stretch run.

Free throw shooting stung the Wolves, however, as they missed six of seven at the charity stripe in the fourth.

For the game, Coupeville was just 7-15, and if you take away Smith’s flawless 5-5 night, the percentage takes a huge dip.

Snope and Hartford finished with 19 apiece to outscore the Wolves by themselves, while CHS got 14 from Wynn and 13 from Smith.

Brian Shank and Ethan Spark each added five to round out the Coupeville offensive attack.

The two teams will see each other again almost immediately, with a rematch Tuesday on Whidbey. The third and final leg of their trilogy doesn’t come until Jan. 24.

JV cruises to win:

The second unit put a positive spin on Coupeville’s exit strategy, rolling to a 16-6 lead after one quarter, en route to a 45-37 win.

The Wolf JV sits at 2-2 overall, 1-1 in league play.

Sean Toomey-Stout paced the Wolves with 12 points, while also hauling down 10 second-half rebounds to blunt any rallies from Klahowya.

Mason Grove popped for seven, Jacobi Pacquette-Pilgrim and Jered Brown each went for six and Ulrik Wells (5), Koa Davison (5), Kyle Rockwell (2) and Nikolai Lyngra (2) all etched their names in the scoring column.

Davison rejected a team-high five shots to lead the defense.

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Wolves learning under fire!!

Posted in Boys Basketball, tagged , , , , on December 2, 2016| Leave a Comment »

Gabe Wynn, seen here in a practice, notched a team-high 15 points Friday night. (John Fisken photo)

   Gabe Wynn, seen here in a practice, notched a team-high 15 points Friday night. (John Fisken photo)

Anthony Smith was a man of mixed emotions.

The Coupeville High School boys’ basketball coach smiled, then grimaced, then smiled again as he talked Friday night after watching his inexperienced squad lose a game it had plenty of chances to win.

“We did some good things, we put ourselves in position to win and then…,” Smith said, his voice trailing off for a moment. “I’m not OK with losing, but I am OK with how we battled.

“We’ve learned some things in these first two non-conference games. We will get better, we are getting better.”

After a blowout loss on opening night to Blaine, the Wolves were a play or two away from making things very, very different in game two, but eventually fell 47-36 to visiting Sultan.

Coupeville (0-2) now hits the road for back-to-back 1A Olympic League games next week — Wednesday at Chimacum and Friday at Klahowya — still trying to find the magic mix with a roster that is virtually absent veterans.

Gabe Wynn, who teams with Hunter Smith as the only Wolves with prior varsity experience, did everything he could do Friday, gunning away for a team-high 15 before fouling out in the final minute.

After the game, the ref who called Wynn’s fifth foul came over to tell Anthony Smith he had messed the call up, small consolation for the Coupeville contingent.

The Wolves jumped on their former Cascade Conference rival literally in the first two seconds of the game.

Sultan won the tip, but Hunter Smith snatched the rock away from a careless Turk, then slashed to the hoop for a sweeping layup.

The visitors took note, focusing on the Wolf guard intently after that and keeping him uncharacteristically quiet on the offensive end, holding him without another bucket until the fourth quarter.

Even with its top offensive weapon stifled a bit, Coupeville controlled the first quarter, surging out to a 10-5 lead with both Wynn and Ethan Spark draining three-point bombs.

The first of several dry spells for the Wolves hurt, though, as they went scoreless over a six-minute stretch that covered the end of the first quarter and much of the second.

Even so, when they finally broke the drought with a slashing runner off of Hunter Downes fingertips at the 2:55 mark of the second quarter, CHS only trailed by a point.

Sparked by an intense effort on the defensive end, with Cameron Toomey-Stout leading a ball-hawking, aggressive zone, Coupeville overcame its cold shooting.

Spark tickled the twines for a trey to kick off the third quarter, and down 18-17, the Wolves looked ready to break things open.

But it didn’t happen.

Sultan, picking up most of its baskets on quick cuts to the hoop, put together a game-busting 13-2 surge in which Coupeville’s only points came on a pair of free throws from Wynn.

Down by 12 twice, with the last time early in the fourth quarter, Coupeville fought back.

A pull-up jumper from Wynn and a trey from Hunter Smith, wrapped around a resounding block by Brian Shank, lit the fuse and a string of successful trips to the charity stripe brought CHS back within 37-33.

The Turks held fast, however, converting back-to-back buckets off of offensive rebounds.

The second one was a particular killer on which Wynn, and not the man who crashed into him, was whistled for a game-icing foul.

Elias Lopez led Sultan with a game-high 20, while Coupeville put seven of its nine players into the scoring column.

Wynn’s 15 was backed up by seven each from Hunter Smith and Spark, while Downes, Steven Cope and Joey Lippo added a basket apiece.

Ariah Bepler rounded out the scoring with a free throw.

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Young and hungry!!

Posted in Boys Basketball, tagged , , , , on November 21, 2016| Leave a Comment »

Kyle Rockwell

   Kyle Rockwell brings an infusion of height to the Wolf boys’ basketball squad. (John Fisken photo)

Gabe Wynn

Gabe Wynn (with ball) is one of two returning varsity players.

Another step up the mountain.

That’s what the Coupeville High School boys’ basketball squad wants to take this season.

The Wolves are coming off a 9-11 campaign, their best in the five years Anthony Smith has been at the helm of the program.

A year ago, they swept Klahowya in a three-game series, took a road game off of league champ Chimacum and finished third in 1A Olympic League play at 4-5.

Now Coupeville wants to continue to improve its numbers and get back into a winning groove.

“The goals are making the playoffs and getting the players to play for each other,” Smith said. “Also, for the players to want to get better every practice and be ready to compete every game, and good things will happen.”

The Wolves will be featuring almost a completely new roster thanks to graduation, returning only two varsity veterans.

Junior guard Hunter Smith and senior swing-man Gabe Wynn will anchor the squad, while the rest of the roster is expected to be filled out by guys jumping up from JV and new and semi-new additions.

Returnees include senior Brian Shank and juniors Ariah Bepler, Hunter Downes and Cameron Toomey-Stout, who “will contribute right away.”

Juniors Joey Lippo and Ethan Spark played JV as freshmen, then took last season off, and are back to bolster the team at guard.

Also in the mix are 6’3 junior Kyle Rockwell and two seniors who transferred in, Steven Cope and Taylor Consford.

However the rotation plays out, Coupeville will ask those players to put an emphasis on the defensive side of the ball.

“The plus will be us playing hard nose d, and getting after it,” Anthony Smith said. “Wanting to have teams turn the ball over, and have fun doing it.

“We will have to work on taking care of the ball and putting the ball in the basket.”

Coupeville graduated nine of the 11 players who scored a season ago, including its top three scorers in Wiley Hesselgrave, Jordan Ford and Risen Johnson.

Hunter Smith, who banged in 130 points while missing time with injuries, and Wynn (84) were #4 and #5 on the scoring chart last year.

The dynamic duo, and their new running mates, will be aiming to take down Chimacum and Port Townsend, who tied for the league’s best mark at 7-2. The Cowboys won two of three over the RedHawks to defend their title.

For now, though, the focus is firmly an internal one. Make yourself better, and then go out and beat your rivals.

“The first week of practice was good,” Anthony Smith said. “This team will work hard, and if guys accept and play their roles, which I think they will, we will be OK.”

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