Chase Anderson splashes home another bucket. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)
“The boys played with so much heart all night.”
Kicking off Northwest 2B/1B League play with a bang Friday, the Coupeville High School varsity boys’ basketball squad survived a wild one, holding off visiting Orcas Island 72-67 in two overtimes to take an early advantage in the conference standings.
The win lifts the Wolves, who host non-league foe Morton-White Pass Saturday, to 2-3 overall, 1-0 in NWL play, and earns the stamp of approval from CHS hoops guru Brad Sherman.
“It was a great game,” he said, then headed off to bed to dream about more wins.
Friday’s rumble featured Wolf junior Chase Anderson banking in a career-high 42 points — just six off of Jeff Stone’s school-record 48, which has stood since 1970 — and nerve-wracking plays from both teams down the stretch.
Coupeville shot out to a 16-10 lead after one quarter, only to see Orcas trim the deficit back down to 29-26 at the half.
Up 49-45 after three, the Wolves still had a 58-55 lead up until Joe Stephens drilled his fourth, and final, three-ball with just 10 seconds left in regulation.
With the ball in its hands, Coupeville got multiple shots up in the frantic final seconds, but none would drop.
Enter the refs, who whistled Orcas for a foul, sending the Wolves to the line with 0:00 on the clock, holding two opportunities to win the game.
The first freebie hit the front of the rim, the second slid off the side, and fans got extra action, whether they wanted it or not.
In the first overtime, the call went the other way, but the result was eerily similar.
With the game knotted at 63, Orcas was handed two charity shots with seven seconds on the clock and promptly clanked both.
It was fitting, as the Vikings, who netted eight of nine free throws in regulation, were just 3-9 across the two extra periods. In contrast, Coupeville was 8-16 in regulation but rebounded to go 8-10 at the line in overtime.
While a wild Wolf shot at the buzzer failed to break the tie in the first overtime, the second extra four-minute stretch decisively belonged to the hometown hoops heroes.
Anderson and Hunter Bronec netted huge buckets in the second overtime, while Hurlee Bronec iced the win with precision free throw shooting in the final moments.
Jack Porter finished with nine points, while both Battlin’ Bronec Brothers netted six.
Landon Roberts knocked down five, Camden Glover banked in four, and Johnny Porter, Easton Green, and Malachi Somes all saw floor time in the thriller.
For Anderson, it was a career-making night.
Scoring four points in the first, 12 in the second, 16 in a torrid third, four in the fourth, and six more in overtime, he joins a very short list of Wolves to crack 40 in a varsity game, players such as Jeff Stone, Allen Black, and Logan Downes.
In one night, Anderson jumps from 312 career points to 354, moving from #96 to #77 on the school’s career scoring chart, which has been compiled across 108 seasons.
Among the all-timers he passes are Nick Streubel, David Ford, Bob Rea, Utz Conard, Robin Larson, and Aaron Trumbull.
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