Hunter Bronec dances in the paint. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)
This one slipped away.
Despite leading for much of the game Friday, the Coupeville High School varsity boys’ basketball squad couldn’t quite seal the deal.
That allowed visiting Sultan to make off with a 55-47 non-conference victory, running its winning streak to four after opening the season with seven straight losses.
Coupeville heads into the Christmas break with a 2-5 record and will look to kick off its own winning streak with a trip to Central Washington University Dec. 27-28.
The Wolves will play Toledo and Kittitas on their Eastern Washington jaunt, before starting 2025 with trips to Wahkiakum and Friday Harbor, not playing in the CHS gym again until Jan. 10.
Friday’s battle royal with Sultan started in favor of the Wolves, with Johnny Porter knocking down a jumper before Hunter Bronec and Camden Glover buried back-to-back three-balls.
Six different Wolves scored in the first frame as CHS built a 16-9 lead fueled by sharing the ball and playing solid defense.
While the “D stayed strong, Coupeville’s offense went into a bit of a deep freeze after that, with single digit scoring in both the second and third quarters.
Still, the Wolves clung to the lead, holding on to a 23-22 advantage at the half, then getting the first bucket of the second half on a spinning layup from Hurlee Bronec.
Sultan finally grabbed the lead for the first time midway through the third, using a 7-0 tear to get ahead 29-25.
Making the immediate counter, Coupeville went off for its own run, with Chase Anderson hitting a fadeaway and a three-ball before zipping a pass to Hunter Bronec to set-up another trey.
Unfortunately, Sultan had the counter-counter, surging back ahead at 36-32 exiting the third, then holding tough in the fourth.
Anderson banked in a bucket at the shot clock buzzer to cut the lead to 43-38, but the Turks put the game away in dramatic fashion, ripping off four baskets in about 45 seconds to make it 51-38.
The game’s final moments belonged largely to Coupeville, with Anderson outscoring Sultan 9-4 by himself to close the contest. But time stops for no man, and the game clock hit 0:00 too fast for a full comeback.
With his game-high 25 points, Anderson becomes the 66th Wolf boy to crack the 400-point club across the last 108 seasons.
The CHS junior heads to Eastern Washington sitting with 402 career points and counting.
Hunter Bronec banked in eight points Friday to back Anderson, with Hurlee Bronec (5), Glover (3), Jack Porter (2), Johnny Porter (2), and Landon Roberts (2) also scoring.
Malachi Somes rounded out the Wolves to see floor time in the final home game of 2024.
Coupeville Sports 