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You shall not pass (or score)!!

Posted in Boys Basketball, tagged Arlington, Basketball, CMS Wolves, defense, Gandalf, Matthew Kelley, Sage Downes, SWISH on February 15, 2015| Leave a Comment »

“I told ’em, you stay in that man-to-man defense and you box out like a beast. They listened … for once.” (Olivia Kelley photo)

The defense was inspired.

Holding Arlington scoreless until a buzzer beater at the end of the third quarter Saturday, the Coupeville 6th grade boys’ basketball SWISH squad rolled to a convincing 24-6 victory.

The win lifted the Wolves to 4-3 with two games to play in the regular season.

Coupeville closes with match-ups against Ferndale and Burlington-Edison before starting the postseason push.

Facing a hack-happy Arlington team that eventually fouled out three players (and had a fourth benched for his behavior), the Wolves rolled out to a 14-0 lead at the half.

After a brief 6-2 run by their rivals, Coupeville closed out the game with another 10 straight, many from the free-throw line.

Matthew Kelley paced the Wolves, hitting for 10, with a three-point bomb and seven charity stripe shots. He also snatched 14 rebounds to nail down his second double-double of the season.

Sage Downes (four points, nine rebounds, three blocked shots), Daniel Olson (four points, four rebounds, two blocked shots), Jake Mitten (three points, six steals, eight rebounds), Alex Jimenez (two points) and Dakota Eck (one point, two steals) all filled up the stat sheet as well.

When they weren’t scoring, the Wolves were lights out on defense.

“They were a solid wall with Olson and Sage wreaking havoc on Arlington’s guards while Kelley, Mitten and Eck would not permit shots in the paint or lower perimeter,” said Coupeville coach Pat Kelley. “Jimenez and Erik Webster assisted down low repeatedly stopping Arlington’s attempts to enter the paint or shoot anything other then a far three attempt.

“Logan Downes and Michael Laska assisted on the top of the key with a stifling attack that prevented Arlington from moving the ball,” he added. “Defensively it was the best game of the season.”

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Cool under pressure!!

Posted in Boys Basketball, tagged Basketball, CMS Wolves, Jake Mitten, Matthew Kelley, Sage Downes, SWISH on February 8, 2015| Leave a Comment »

Coupeville coach Pat Kelley (left) offers sage advice turning a timeout. (Olivia Kelley photo)

It was a close game until the other team self-destructed.

A foul-happy Burlington-Edison squad fell apart in the game’s final two-and-a-half minutes Saturday, picking up a crucial technical and accidentally shooting at their own basket.

That allowed the Coupeville 6th grade SWISH team, which remained as cool as the other side of the pillow, to close on a 13-3 run, scampering away with a 35-25 win that brought their record to 3-3 on the season.

With Burlington hammering Coupeville’s leading scorer, Matthew Kelley, every time he touched the ball — even hitting him in the head on a buzzer-beating three-point bomb at the end of the first half — the Wolves spread out their offense.

The slick-shooting Sage Downes poured in 12 to pace Coupeville, while Daniel Olson netted nine and Kelley racked up six.

Jake Mitten banked home four, including putting back a rebound after Burlington shot at their own hoop and Dakota Eck rounded out the scoring with a bucket.

The game was knotted at 22 when Burlington was whistled for a technical for an illegal substitution — and much prolonged complaining — and the Wolves took advantage.

Running an effective press, Coupeville spent the final two minutes terrorizing the Tiger ball-handlers into committing numerous turnovers and then turning the loose balls into easy buckets.

The Wolves now head into a rematch with Arlington next weekend. They won 31-28 in the first go-round.

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Courage under fire!!

Posted in Boys Basketball, tagged AAU Hoopstars, Basketball, Jake Mitten, Matthew Kelley, SWISH on February 1, 2015| Leave a Comment »

The view from the Wolf bench. (Olivia Kelley photos)

Coupeville coach Pat Kelley offers some strategy during a timeout.

It was an honorable loss.

Facing off with a top-level AAU team that was coming off a dominating performance at the MLK Tournament in Bellingham, the Coupeville 6th grade SWISH boys’ basketball squad put up a considerable fight.

And, while the Wolves eventually fell 38-23 to the Hoopstars Saturday, it was much better than other teams have fared.

The Hoopstars entered the game averaging 46 points a game and have been beating foes by 20+ points. In their previous contest, they drilled Sedro-Woolley by 32.

With nothing to lose, the scrappy Wolves came out primed for battle from the opening tip.

Jake Mitten won the opening toss, tipping it to Sage Downes, who went hard to the basket, throwing down the bucket and drawing a foul in one explosive play.

Focusing on forcing the Hoopstars to beat them from long-distance, the Wolves rode a stingy defense to a 7-2 lead after one, resulting in the opposing coach offering a few choice words to her squad during the break.

The Hoopstars eventually broke through, however, hitting five consecutive three-point bombs to open up a lead they would never relinquish.

Still, Coupeville stayed tough inside, limiting the Hoopstars in the paint.

Logan Downes and Michael Laska, the mighty mites of the Wolf squad, led the charge in standing tough on defense and absorbing charges to draw offensive fouls.

On the offensive end of the court, Mitten “was an animal and on fire,” according to Coupeville coach Pat Kelley.

He paced the Wolves with 10 points, six rebounds and two steals, while Matthew Kelley dropped in six points, snatched six boards, rejected three shots and handed out four assists.

Sage Downes went for four points, two rebounds and six steals in support of the big two, with Daniel Olson chipping in with three points, three assists and two rebounds.

While their team absorbed a loss, the Wolf coaching staff was pleased with the grit shown against a premier program.

“Best play of the season by Coupeville,” Pat Kelley said. “Very seldom do you put plans in motion and the game goes as expected.

“It has been slow going in introducing the offense. Due to vacations and illness, the coaches took their time the past four weeks to bring the team on slowly,” he added. “Now that the team has their full offense and defense in place, they will work on perfecting the movement.

“A huge winning streak is anticipated versus some very worthy opponents.”

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Young Wolves scare Sedro!!

Posted in Boys Basketball, tagged Basketball, CMS Wolves, Jake Mitten, Matthew Kelley, Sage Downes on January 25, 2015| Leave a Comment »

The Wolves get a fourth quarter pep talk. Looking at the camera (l to r) are Sage Downes, Matthew Kelley and Daniel Olson. (Olivia Kelley photo)

The score was deceptive.

While the Coupeville 6th grade boys’ SWISH basketball squad fell 30-21 to Sedro-Woolley Saturday, the Wolves were within a basket with 30 seconds to play.

Unfortunately, a press defense killed them at the end, allowing a much taller, more experienced foe to escape with the win.

Still, even in a loss, the young guns continued to show amazing growth, with two more players — Alex Jimenez and Logan Downes, a third grader playing above his pay grade — scoring their first baskets of the season.

With five games left, nine of 10 Coupeville players have etched their name in the scoring column this season.

Against a Sedro team that has been playing together for three seasons, the Wolves showed “they can hang with and scare anyone in this league,” according to coach Pat Kelley.

“A rematch in the playoffs will have a different outcome!”

Sage Downes paced Coupeville with six points and five rebounds, with Matthew Kelley (four points, 15 rebounds), Jake Mitten (four points, 14 rebounds), Daniel Olson (four points), Jimenez (two points) and Logan Downes (one point) rounding out the scoring attack.

Michael Laska, Dakota Eck and Erik Webster were “relentless in the paint providing pressure and forcing steals and rebounds.”

Coupeville is averaging 29.5 points per game, with Sage Downes topping the scoring chart with 37 points in four games. Kelley (31) and Olson (25) are hot on his heels.

Defensively, Kelley (40 rebounds and 16 steals), Mitten (30 rebounds and seven steals), Sage Downes (15 rebounds and seven steals) and Olson (12 rebounds and five steals) lead the way.

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