Hunter Downes has impressed coaches and fans with his scrappy, take-no-prisoner style of play. (John Fisken photo)
Let’s get this party started.
Coupeville High School JV boys’ basketball coach Dustin Van Velkinburgh is mixing things up in the final weeks of the season, working on installing a high-octane offense on the fly.
And, like most things in the early stages, it has its good moments and its wild, out-of-control moments, all of which were on display during a narrow 64-59 loss to visiting Klahowya Friday.
The loss dropped the young guns to 2-12, but the huge leaps and bounds the Wolves have taken in just a few practices were very evident against the Eagles.
When things are working the way they’re supposed to, Coupeville’s second unit rains down a steady diet of three-balls (they hit 10 Friday), mixed in with fast-break layups.
After falling behind 6-0 in the early going, the Wolves started clicking, closing the first quarter on a 13-4 run.
The surge was exactly what Van Velkinburgh is preaching, with treys from Ty Eck, Cameron Toomey-Stout and Gabe Eck, mixed in with quick inside cuts for buckets.
Ty Eck banked home back-to-back buckets, off of passes from Hunter Downes and Gabe Eck, as injured Wolf teammate Luke Merriman whooped and hollered from the crows nest where he was videotaping.
After a slowdown in the second, when shots started clanking and passes flying over people’s heads, Coupeville put together its best run in the third quarter, throwing down 21 points over eight minutes.
Brian Shank and Ty Eck each went for seven in the quarter, while Downes did the dirty work, hitting the floor time and again, to set things up.
Holding on to a narrow one-point lead heading in to the fourth, the Wolves fought down to the final seconds, but couldn’t quite prevail as Klahowya closed out the game strongly at the free-throw line.
The Eck brothers paced CHS with a combined 34 points, with Ty hitting for 18 and Gabe rattling the rim for 16.
Toomey-Stout notched 10, Shank banked home nine, Downes popped for four, Ariah Bepler tickled the twines for a soft jumper and Beauman Davis and Andre Avila both brought tons of energy to their time on the floor.
Coupeville Sports 