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Posts Tagged ‘Logan Downes’

Wolves lose battle, still ready for war

Posted in Boys Basketball, tagged , , , , on February 10, 2023| Leave a Comment »

William Davidson eyeballs the paparazzi. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)

A bump in the road.

It wasn’t the way the Coupeville High School varsity boys’ basketball team wanted to end the regular season, falling 67-60 at Friday Harbor in a foul-riddled brawl Friday night.

But while the loss drops the Wolves to 13-7 on the season, it ultimately doesn’t matter all that much, except as a lesson to be learned.

Friday Harbor is still NOT going to the postseason, and Coupeville is still the #1 playoff seed from District 1, and that was set in stone long before the Wolves went Island-hopping.

The Wolves host Northwest Christian (Lacey) Tuesday, Feb. 14 in their bi-district opener, then welcome either Auburn Adventist Academy or La Conner to the CHS gym Feb. 16.

Win two games in the four-team double-elimination royal rumble, and Coupeville heads back to the state tourney for the second-straight season.

So, celebrate tonight Friday Harbor boys’ hoops fans, because tomorrow you can start thinking about spring sports.

Dominic Coffman is ready for the playoffs. (Bailey Thule photo)

Friday’s tilt started firmly in favor of Coupeville, took a nasty detour, then became a bare-knuckle slugfest in the late going.

Nick Guay opened the game by hitting a jumper, before the refs discovered the teams were using the smaller basketball normally employed by high school female players.

The basket stood, however, and then Logan Downes and Alex Murdy combined to rain down a trio of three-balls with their normal ball, helping the Wolves build an 11-4 lead midway through the first quarter.

Things got batty from there, however, as Friday Harbor hit a groove (and a bunch of buckets), using a 20-2 surge over the next 6-8 minutes, pulling ahead 24-13.

Coupeville rallied, with Murdy raining down shots while hanging in mid-air, while teammate Jonathan Valenzuela swept up a wayward baby who wandered onto the court during play.

Back within 29-23 at the half, the Wolves were playing with fire, as they have from time to time this season, falling behind, then rallying to crush foes.

This time, however, Friday Harbor didn’t crack, matching CHS bucket for bucket across the third quarter during a 19-19 stalemate.

Cole White hit a variety of pressure-packed shots, freshman Chase Anderson came up with a big steal and breakaway bucket, and Murdy was locked-in as he cracked the 400-point club like older brother Xavier before him.

But the Wolverines stayed patient, hit the boards hard, and netted a string of three-balls to keep the Wolves at bay.

For a moment at least.

Back down by 11 in the fourth quarter, Coupeville went on a 15-4 tear, knotting things up at 59-59 when Downes splashed home a trey from deep on the right side of the floor.

White set the play up with a nifty steal, and an earlier technical foul on the hosts for being chippy helped as well.

But then, as quickly as the comeback had come to life, Coupeville’s shooting touch evaporated.

Friday Harbor, cheered on by La Conner players in the stands (rival schools uniting for a night to heckle the big dogs), hit six free throws in the waning moments.

Tack on a put-back off of an offensive rebound, and the Wolverines were able to slam the door shut.

For this night, at least.

Downes finished with a game-high 29 points, while Murdy banked in 15, and White tickled the twines for 10.

Guay (2), Anderson (2), William Davidson (1), and Coffman (1) also scored, while Ryan Blouin, Zane Oldenstadt, and Valenzuela saw floor time.

With his first three-ball of the night Downes passed Jeff Rhubottom (459 points in 1977-1978), and now has the second-best single-season scoring total, boy or girl, in 106 years of CHS basketball.

The Wolf junior sits with 486 points heading into the playoffs, chasing just Jeff Stone, who rattled the rims for 644 in 1969-1970.

Career-wise, Downes cracks the 700-point club, passing Chris Good (688) to move into 21st place all-time with 710 and counting.

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Rattle the rim, record the stats

Posted in Basketball, tagged , , , , on February 4, 2023| Leave a Comment »

Mia Farris gets a closer look at the stat sheet. (Bailey Thule photo)

Can we reach 3,000? Probably.

With eight more regular season games left on the schedule, then likely playoff runs for both varsity teams, Coupeville High School hoops stars have already combined to ripple the net for 2,611 points and counting.

Six Wolves have cracked 100 points by themselves this season, with a handful of players pushing hard to join them in the triple-digit club.

Where things stand through Feb. 4:

 

Varsity girls
(16 games):

Alita Blouin – 157
Maddie Georges – 91
Ryanne Knoblich – 84
Lyla Stuurmans – 65
Gwen Gustafson – 55
Katie Marti – 44
Carolyn Lhamon – 27
Mia Farris – 23
Madison McMillan – 6
Jada Heaton – 2
Skylar Parker – 2

 

JV girls
(14 games):

Madison McMillan – 107
Kierra Thayer – 58
Desi Ramirez-Vasquez – 52
Carlota Marcos-Cabrillo – 45
Jada Heaton – 34
Reese Wilkinson – 33
Teagan Calkins – 22
Bryley Gilbert – 15
Skylar Parker – 14
Liza Zustiak – 14
Kayla Arnold – 11
Brynn Parker – 7
Kassidy Upchurch – 2

 

Varsity boys
(18 games):

Logan Downes – 430
Alex Murdy – 181
Nick Guay – 118
Cole White – 113
Jonathan Valenzuela – 71
Dominic Coffman – 49
Ryan Blouin – 48
Chase Anderson – 33
Jermiah Copeland – 10
Zane Oldenstadt – 8
William Davidson – 5
Mikey Robinett – 4
Hunter Bronec – 2
Quinten Simpson-Pilgrim – 2

 

JV boys
(12 games):

Aiden O’Neill – 91
Hunter Bronec – 89
Jack Porter – 82
Chase Anderson – 71
Camden Glover – 61
Johnny Porter – 49
Hurlee Bronec – 41
Malachi Somes – 37
Landon Roberts – 34
Mikey Robinett – 6
Carson Field – 4
Yohannon Sandles – 2

Yohannon Sandles pushes the pace. (Bailey Thule photo)

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Another day, another gut-check win

Posted in Boys Basketball, tagged , , , , on February 3, 2023| Leave a Comment »

Coupeville’s Logan Downes (left) and Dominic Coffman prepare to terrorize their foes. (Bailey Thule photo)

They didn’t have a prayer.

Auburn Adventist Academy blew a 13-point lead Thursday, the private school hoopsters unable to stop the Coupeville High School varsity boys’ basketball team when it mattered the most.

In a possible playoff preview, the Wolves stormed from behind to turn their first-half deficit into a 16-point second-half advantage, then held on for a 58-52 road win.

The non-conference victory gives Coupeville its tenth win in its last 12 games and lifts CHS to 12-6 heading into the final week of the regular season.

The Wolves host Northwest 2B/1B League rival La Conner Tuesday, Feb. 7, then travel to Friday Harbor Feb. 10, chasing the top playoff seed from District 1.

Auburn Adventist, which is the #1 seed from District 2, falls to 16-3 after losing its regular-season finale.

The two schools could meet again at bi-districts, and, if they do, it will be on Coupeville’s home floor, as CHS hosts the tourney.

Thursday was about winning now, getting a possible preview of what’s to come, and blowing up the RPI rankings compiled by the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association.

Auburn entered the night ranked #10 in 2B, while Coupeville was slotted at #22 by computers which can’t look deep enough to know that four of six Wolf early-season losses came against much-larger schools.

Having faced off with 2A and 1A rivals, including a wild double-overtime loss to a Sultan squad which is now 16-2, Brad Sherman’s pack of defensive-minded Wolves have gotten stronger as the season plays out.

Physically and mentally.

Which goes a long way to explaining why Coupeville didn’t crack, even when it struggled to find an offensive groove in the early going.

Auburn’s unique gym, which looks like someone took an airplane hangar, slapped down a basketball court, then added a cafe with tables off to the side, also had a rim which was unforgiving in the first half.

Nick Guay did what he could to keep CHS in the game, pumping in six points in the opening quarter, but he was the lone Wolf to get the ball to stay in the bucket on a field goal attempt.

Trailing 17-8 at the first break, Coupeville hit its lowest moment a minute or two later, as the deficit widened to 21-8.

But the Wolves have shown patience as the season has progressed, with the current group jelling as they get further away from last spring’s graduation, which claimed six players from a team which made it to the state tourney.

Logan Downes popped for three buckets, with fab frosh Chase Anderson and wily point guard Cole White also banking in shots, as CHS closed the half on a 10-2 run.

That cut the margin down to 23-18 headed into the locker room but was just a taste of what was to come.

Downes, who is having one of the best offensive seasons in the 106-year history of Wolf boys’ basketball, erupted in the second half, pouring in 32 of his game-high 40 points, while he and his teammates got appropriately nasty on defense.

With Alex Murdy as the point of the spear, Coupeville clamped down big time, frustrating Auburn and preventing the Falcons from getting any easy buckets.

Alex Murdy, on the attack. (Bailey Thule photo)

With refs who called very few fouls, the Wolves stepped up and fought for every loose ball, battled for every rebound, and stayed eternally scrappy.

Then, Downes and Co. took the turnovers, kicked their offense into high gear and made the Falcons back-pedal, splashing home buckets over them as they retreated.

The junior gunner netted four three-balls in the third quarter alone, rippling the nets for 18 points on his own as Coupeville busted out a game-changing 22-6 run.

The Wolves reclaimed the lead at 28-25, their first time in front since 2-0, and never gave back the advantage.

By the time Downes split defenders for a running layup to close the third, the play set up by a Dominic Coffman steal, Coupeville was in front 40-29.

From there, the Wolves pushed the lead out to 45-29, and still led 53-40 after Guay swished a three-ball from the right side with mere minutes to play.

Auburn is a dangerous team, however, with speedy players who force a fair number of turnovers, and the Falcons made one last run.

Three steals fueled a 10-0 run by the hosts, cutting Coupeville’s lead all the way back down to 53-50, but the Wolves never cracked.

Downes beat the defense for a running layup to push the margin back to five, then closed the game at the free throw line, where the Wolves were the better team.

CHS hit 12 of 15 shots from the charity stripe, while Auburn was a weak 3-9 on the night.

As he bumped across the backroads of America on his way home, CHS coach Brad Sherman reflected on what he had seen, and was pleased with a lot of it.

“Just proud of our guy’s toughness and composure to climb back in and take that one,” he said. “Our focus just needs to be one game at a time.”

Guay finished with 11 points, while White (2), Coffman (2), Anderson (2), and Murdy (1) also scored, and Zane Oldenstadt, William Davidson, and Jonathan Valenzuela chipped in with intangibles.

“Give me the dang ball!!” (Bailey Thule photo)

Downes 40-point effort matches his career-high, set earlier this season in another close game, with that one being against Orcas Island.

With two regular-season rumbles left to play, then a possible playoff run, he sits with 430 points on the season.

That’s the fourth-best single-season effort ever by a Wolf boy, and sixth-best by a CHS hoops player.

Downes trails just Jeff Stone (644 in 1969-1970), Jeff Rhubottom (459 in 1977-1978), Brianne King (446 and 442, in 2000-2001 and 2002-2003 respectively), and Pete Petrov (442 in 1995-1996).

By moving into the top 10 single-season performances, he bumps his own coach from the list, as Brad Sherman singed the nets for 396 points back in 2002-2003.

Though, after the win, the always even-keeled Wolf hardwood guru probably has no problem with now being #11.

Career-wise, Downes is still chasing Sherman, and a few others, as he moves from #31 all-time on the boys scoring chart to a tie with Jason McFadyen at #27.

With 654 points and counting, the youngest of Ralph and Angie Downes‘ three sons passes Wiley Hesselgrave (632), Kramer O’Keefe (636), and Rich Morris (637).

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Milestones met, win welcomed

Posted in Boys Basketball, tagged , , , , , on January 28, 2023| Leave a Comment »

Older brother Hunter (right) was in the gym Friday to witness Logan Downes crack the 600-point club. (Angie Downes photo)

Never celebrate too early.

In other words, if it’s a 32-minute game, you might not want to act like you’ve just won a state title six minutes into play.

That’s a lesson the Friday Harbor High School varsity boys’ basketball team, and its fans, learned painfully Friday night.

The Wolverines all but stormed the floor after a bucket gave them the lead at 10-8, only to then get slapped into oblivion by host Coupeville, which promptly snatched back control en route to a 59-34 win.

Putting eight guys into the scoring column, the hometown Wolves won for the ninth time in their last 11 games and get to 11-6 on the season.

Not only was it nice to win in front of an overflow home crowd after playing four straight road rumbles, knocking off Friday Harbor has major playoff implications for Coupeville.

The seven-team Northwest 2B/1B League has three 2B schools, and two earn berths to the bi-district tourney based on how they do against each other in the regular season.

Coupeville is now 2-0 in the round-robin, La Conner is 1-1, and Friday Harbor 0-2.

The Braves and Wolverines play again Feb. 3, with Coupeville hosting La Conner Feb. 7, then travelling to Friday Harbor for the regular-season finale Feb. 10.

In between that, CHS has a road game Feb. 2 against non-league foe Auburn Adventist Academy.

Wolf hoops coaches (left to right) Hunter Smith, Greg White, Randy Bottorff, and Brad Sherman watch the action on Coupeville vs. Cancer night. (Deb Sherman photo)

Friday’s game plan was all about the Wolves putting themselves into position to earn the #1 seed out of District 1, and Brad Sherman’s squad delivered.

Coupeville jumped out to a quick 7-0 lead, with Logan Downes snapping the net on a jumper, Alex Murdy sinking a long three-ball, and William Davidson powering through the paint for a bucket.

The third of those baskets earned the loudest shrieks from the audience as “The Show Pony,” a killer on the boards who also is a deft passer and drawer of offensive fouls on rivals, put up a rare shot.

Hauling in a pass from Downes and going strong to the rim, Davidson delighted his large, fairly rabid fan base, who were still hyperventilating several minutes later.

That was when Friday Harbor made its move, stirring things up with a 10-1 run to claim the lead and start the chest-thumping.

Said celebration didn’t last long, however, as another Murdy three-ball and a pair of Dominic Coffman free throws capped the quarter, sending CHS to the bench up 13-10.

Friday Harbor did knot things up at 13-13, but never got back in front, as the Wolves had an answer for every one of their rival’s moves.

Downes tickled the twines on a three-ball, cracking the 600-point club, before fellow junior Nick Guay grabbed the microphone and did a saucy solo.

Reeling off nine straight points on his own, with buckets set up by a Cole White feed, a Chase Anderson steal, and a Davidson rebound, the lanky leaper was feelin’ it.

Murdy spun his defender around with a nasty move before swooping to kiss the ball off the glass, and Coupeville’s lead was out to double digits.

While Friday Harbor trimmed the deficit back to 28-20 by halftime, the third quarter was a heartbreaker for the visitors.

Downes and White combined for 16 points as Coupeville ripped off a game-busting 21-8 run coming out of the break, and any chance of a comeback crumbled.

The best bucket was a wham-bam-thank-you-ma’am special.

Zane Oldenstadt corralled a loose ball, flipped it to White, then watched as the Wolf point guard flung a crosscourt pass to Downes, who spun, hopped around a defender and banked the ball home.

Or maybe the best bucket was Downes bringing the ball downcourt, draining the final seconds of the quarter, then flicking a running one-hander off the glass to beat the buzzer and drive the final stake through the heart.

From there it was time to coast home and hand Sherman his 50th win as a high school hoops coach, the Wolves punctuating things with a sensational steal and breakaway bucket from the always-aggressive Murdy.

Coupeville’s scoring sheet was properly balanced, with Downes (18), Murdy (15), Guay (9), White (8), Jonathan Valenzuela (4), Coffman (2), Davidson (2) and Chase Anderson (1) all contributing to the cause.

Ryan Blouin and Jermiah Copeland joined Oldenstadt in doing the important little things necessary to set up their teammates scoring.

While the win, and its help to the playoff cause, was the main focus, several Wolves hit personal milestones in the game.

White notched his 150th career varsity point, while Murdy (386) moves closer to the 400-point club and is now the #65 scorer all-time for a program launched in 1917.

And Downes? His torrid run continues.

When he walked off the floor Friday, he did so sitting with 390 points this season.

That’s the most by any Wolf since Makana Stone netted 427 in 2015-2016, and the most by a CHS boy since Mike Bagby knocked down 414 back in 2004-2005.

If Downes were to head to Siberia tonight, his season would be the 16th best in school history.

Only 11 Wolf boys, and two girls, have scored more in a season, with Brianne King (446, 442) and Randy Keefe (398, 397) having done it twice.

One of the guys still ahead of Downes, for the moment, is his head coach, with Brad Sherman shredding the nets for 396 points in 2002-2003.

Career-wise, Downes passes another one of his coaches, Greg White, jumping from #36 to #31 all-time.

Going from 596 to 614 points Friday, he vaults past Brian Miller (597), Joe Whitney (601), Denny Zylstra (602), Greg White (604), and John O’Grady (611).

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Rally kings nip Red Devils

Posted in Boys Basketball, tagged , , , , on January 15, 2023| Leave a Comment »

Cole White kickstarts the offense. (Bailey Thule photo)

Pull on your padded underwear and get ready to rock.

Saturday’s varsity boys’ basketball bout between host Neah Bay and visiting Coupeville was not for the faint of heart.

The teams combined for 151 points, and probably just as many bruises, in the kind of down-and-dirty brawl which had fans on both sides of the bleachers hyperventilating.

And the best news, at least for faithful readers of this blog?

Coupeville roared back from a 13-point deficit, overcoming both the scrappy Red Devils and a hail of foul calls to pull out an electrifying 76-75 win in CHS coach Brad Sherman’s 100th game on the bench.

Then the Wolves and their fans booked it out of town, fleeing seconds after Neah Bay’s potential buzzer-beater clanged off the rim — intent on making it to the final ferry of the night.

While bouncing across the rutted backroads of small-town America, Coupeville’s hoops stars could bask in the glow of a job well done.

Playing their second game in less than 24 hours, the Wolves proved to be resilient second-half warriors and are now 8-5 after winning for the sixth time in their last seven games.

Friday’s home league win against an overmatched Darrington squad was just the appetizer, with Saturday’s non-conference tussle a true test.

The Wolves, who have played a tough early-season schedule as they prep for making a run at earning a repeat trip to the state tourney, went toe-to-toe with Neah Bay in the early going.

Logan Downes had a hot hand, pumping in 12 in the first quarter, with a final free throw being his 300th point of the season.

That charity shot, coming after teammate Jonathan Valenzuela yanked down an offensive rebound, then spun and nailed a dagger of a jumper, pulled Coupeville within 17-16.

Jonathan Valenzuela floats in for a bucket. (Chloe Marzocca photo)

If there was a downside, it came courtesy of the refs, who seemed to delight in whistling Coupeville on a frequent basis, including handing out a questionable technical foul on the Wolves.

What’s funny is you look at the scorebook, and the final foul tally for the entire day was 20 for CHS, and 17 for Neah Bay.

Yet it felt, at least in the first half, much more unbalanced than that, proving perception doesn’t always equal reality.

And to be fair, it wasn’t just the fouls, as Neah Bay was locked-in and stroking the ball, popping shots to push its lead out to 36-23 late in the half.

Coupeville rallied right at the end, with Dominic Coffman turning a steal into a breakaway bucket and Alex Murdy nailing one of his four three-balls, but the Red Devils still led 36-28 at the break.

Whatever wisdom was imparted in the locker room was crucial, however, as the Wolves seemed like a different team in the second half.

A 14-2 run, kicked off by a Cole White jumper and capped by eight straight points from Downes — including both a three-ball and a three-point play earned the hard way — gave CHS its first lead in forever.

Then, after a brief rally by Neah Bay to go back in front at 49-46, Coupeville claimed the advantage for good.

Murdy lowered his shoulder and rumbled up the middle for a bucket, followed by back-to-back treys from Downes, and Coupeville never trailed again.

Not that Neah Bay faded away, as the Red Devils cut their deficit to 54-53 heading into the fourth quarter and responded to every Wolf run with one of their own.

Downes and Murdy both dropped a pair of three-balls in the final frame, but Coupeville couldn’t pull away as the clock ran down.

First the Wolves were up seven, then later nine, and both times the Red Devils charged back into the fray.

Neah Bay only had four three-balls to Coupeville’s nine, but the two biggest came in the final seconds, as Red Devils sophomore Makyah Chambers buried a pair of pressure-packed treys with Wolf defenders hanging all over him.

Coupeville’s secret weapon down the stretch turned out to be Nick Guay, who scored all six of his points in the white-hot glare of prime time.

Three times the lanky junior sliced through the defense and banked in layups to preserve his team’s lead in the final minute, with Murdy and Downes setting him up with note-perfect passes.

In the end, the game came down not to a big shot, but to the Wolves executing the small play, and doing it on repeat.

Three times in the final 10 seconds Coupeville had to get the ball inbounds in the backcourt, knowing Neah Bay would quickly foul.

The Red Devils couldn’t send the Wolves to the free throw line until foul #3, but they could hack and chop and hope for a turnover while trying.

Instead, three times White stepped out of bounds, and three times Downes faked, spun, pivoted and made just enough room between himself and his defender to pull in the pass, cling to the ball with an iron grip and absorb getting smacked.

Try as they might, the Red Devils never came close to a steal, and finally sent Coupeville to the line for a one-and-one attempt.

Deciding the day needed just a bit more drama, the basket spit out Downes initial free throw try, giving Neah Bay a chance to make a miracle as it grabbed the rebound.

To the joy of the Wolves, and the staggering disappointment of the Red Devil fans, though, a long three-ball clanged off the rim, and a put-back wouldn’t go down.

That set off a half-celebration, half-stampede for the door from anyone with a Whidbey address.

Later, after the hubbub settled down, the 100-game coach marinated in a memorable win.

“Really just very proud of the way our guys came together and got it done against a tough, scrappy team tonight on the road,” Sherman said.

“Showed a ton of grit – especially the energy the boys came out of halftime with!”

Dominic Coffman (on floor) and William Davidson bring the defensive heat. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)

Coupeville got big contributions from all 10 players to see the floor, with Zane Oldenstadt, William Davidson, and Ryan Blouin fueling the defensive effort.

Downes torched the nets for a game-high 36 points — the second-best effort of his high school career — marking the fourth time he’s topped 30 in the last seven games.

That pushes him to 324 points on the season (24.9 a night), and 548 for his career.

Downes passed former Wolf greats Cody Peters (518), JJ Marti (520), Gary Faris (524), Brad Miller (526), Jerry Zylstra (527), and Gary Hammons (533) Saturday, and sits #43 on the Wolf boys all-time scoring chart for a program launched in 1917.

Murdy came up huge on both ends of the floor, adding 18 points of his own to the cause, lifting his own career total to 333, while Guay (6), White (6), Valenzuela (4), Coffman (4), and Chase Anderson (2) also scored.

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