Desmond Bell scored nine Wednesday, including a three-pointer that sparked a Wolf rally. (John Fisken photo)
“I’m liking the energy we are getting from the bench. Guys are excited to play and it shows.”
While his squad lost Wednesday in a game that was scheduled at the last second, Coupeville High School JV boys’ basketball coach Dustin Van Velkinburgh can see the positives.
“We are beginning to figure some things out,” he said. “Just need to find our stride earlier in games. At points this season, when we click and play well together, as we are capable of, we have been scary.”
The Wolves cut a 21-point deficit to six at one point against visiting Friday Harbor, but also had stretches that were less pleasant.
A slow start and a bad finish combined to send CHS to a 61-39 loss.
The game was a late pick-up for the young Wolves (now 1-5), who had an opening on their schedule since an earlier varsity opponent, Darrington, didn’t have a second team.
Friday Harbor’s two girls’ teams were already scheduled to come to Whidbey, so the Wolverine JV boys hitched a ride with them.
With little time to plan for the game, Coupeville came out cold.
One of the team’s leading scorers, DeAndre Mitchell, got in early foul trouble and spent much of the first half attached to the bench.
In his place, the Wolves got a big boost from freshman Hunter Downes, who “came in and gave us great energy off the bench.”
With Downes on the floor, Coupeville cut a 9-1 deficit to 13-8 by the end of the first quarter.
Hunter Smith nailed a running floater a tick before the buzzer to send his squad into the opening break on a positive note.
Unfortunately, things soured quickly as the Wolves went on a tear of missed layups, repeatedly shooting themselves in the foot after getting solid looks at the basket.
Things worsened as CHS came out of the halftime break with little spark, letting Friday Harbor stretch out its lead past the 20-point barrier.
After a Van Velkinburgh timeout, the Wolves finally seemed to wake up.
Desmond Bell stroked a three-point bomb from the corner to kick things off and Coupeville immediately stole the in-bounds pass on the next play, scoring another quick bucket.
The Wolves cut their deficit back to six, but Friday Harbor survived, nailing a trey to blunt the run.
Down by 10 with 90 seconds to play, Coupeville cleared its bench and the visitors closed the game on a 12-0 run.
Smith paced the Wolves with 14 points, four rebounds, three steals and three assists, while Bell racked up nine points, four boards and two steals.
When he was able to stay on the court, DeAndre Mitchell was effective, pumping in eight points and snatching seven boards.
Dante Mitchell (five points, six boards), Brian Shank (one point, six boards) and Downes (two points, three boards and “countless floor burns”) all chipped in, as well.
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