Nick Guay slashes hard to the hoop. (Bailey Thule photo)
These are the nights which bring a warm glow to a coach’s heart.
Facing off with the tallest team in the Northwest 2B/1B League Tuesday, the Coupeville High School varsity boys’ basketball squad proved big hearts can beat big bodies.
Doing all the important things sometimes overlooked in the buzz over scoring records — hitting the glass, closing out on defense, making the extra pass — the Wolves held on for a 44-39 win over visiting Mount Vernon Christian in an old-fashioned bar room brawl.
The win, Coupeville’s fourth in its last five games, lifts Brad Sherman’s squad to 6-5, while the Hurricanes slip to 9-5.
While the game featured two league rivals squaring off, the result doesn’t count in the conference standings.
Thanks to a quirk in the schedule, the rematch, which is Jan. 20 in Mount Vernon, is the rumble which matters most as Coupeville seeks to defend its league crown.
But whether it was a “league” or “non-league” game, Tuesday’s tilt was a biggie, and one the Wolves really wanted.
From William Davidson drawing two offensive charging fouls on MVC players in the first quarter, to fellow Wolf bruisers Zane Oldenstadt and Dominic Coffman yanking down rebounds, this was a true team effort.
Add in ferocious defensive play from Alex Murdy and Cole White, doing their best to thoroughly frustrate Hurricane ballhandlers, and Sherman came away pleased.
“That was a good team win,” he said.
“A lot of guys played really tough tonight and got their jobs done, especially our guys battling in the paint and out pressuring the ball.”
MVC actually jumped in front early, claiming a 6-0 lead, before Coupeville stormed back.
Logan Downes popped back-to-back three-balls, kicking off a run of 13 straight points from the Wolf junior, busting things open a bit.
After teaming up with Oldenstadt on a scorching give-and-go play, Downes also picked up a bucket on a slash through the heart of the Hurricane defense, before capping things with a third trey.
Frazzled, MVC lost the ball in the back court, or rather, it was ripped away by Coffman, who immediately turned it into a bucket of his own, and the Wolves were romping, up 15-6.
The visitors were a resilient bunch, though, getting a three-point play the hard way to end the first quarter, then holding Coupeville to just five points in the second frame.
While slowed down a bit, the Wolves never lost control of the game, or relinquished the lead after claiming it for the first time.
White drew a charge on an MVC player, before Downes ran down the clock, cutting hard to the basket for a layup with a single, solitary second left before the halftime break.
His bucket staked Coupeville to a 20-17 lead, and the Wolves jumped hard on the Hurricanes to open both the third and fourth quarters.
The first time around, a 12-2 surge, with Ryan Blouin and Downes nailing back-to-back three-balls and White netting his 100th career point on a short jumper, pushed the lead out to 13 points.
MVC hung tough, closing the third quarter on its own 8-0 run to get back within 32-27, but the Wolves put together a 10-4 tear to open the fourth, all but sealing the win.
Coupeville’s buckets down the stretch were fueled by big plays on the defensive end of the floor.
Murdy yanked away a rebound, and White made off with a steal, with both Wolves feeding Downes on breakaway baskets.
Then there was Davidson, standing tall in the paint, turning a rebound into a kickout to White, who beat the defense down the floor.
While MVC narrowed the final margin from 11 to five during a frantic final 45 seconds, time ran out on the Hurricanes, with a layup under pressure from Nick Guay capping Coupeville’s offensive effort.
Downes had a hot hand, pumping in a game-high 28 points, and moves within four of cracking the 500-point club, while Guay (5), White (4), Coffman (4), and Blouin (3) provided support.
Jonathan Valenzuela, Oldenstadt, Davidson, and Murdy may not have scored on this night, but all four provided key contributions for a team which earned the victory by continuing to showcase its ability to survive a string of rough-and-tumble foes.
Up next is a home game against Darrington (3-7) Friday, with this one counting in the league standings, and a long trip Saturday to play non-conference rival Neah Bay (4-3).
That second contest kicks off a run of road games for the Wolves, who play six of their final eight regular-season bouts away from Whidbey Island.
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