Ryan Blouin, launcher of bombs and destroyer of worlds. (Mia Farris photo)
Ryan Blouin flat out murdered some folks Tuesday night.
Knocking down seven three-balls, the Coupeville High School senior sparked the Wolf varsity boys’ basketball squad to a 65-54 win at La Conner.
The victory, coming in the regular season finale for CHS, lifts the Wolves to 7-1 in Northwest 2B/1B League play, 15-5 overall.
It also garners Coupeville sweet revenge for a one-point loss to the Braves earlier this season, clinches at least a share of the league title for Brad Sherman’s squad, and keeps them alive for a top seed to the 2B District 1/2 tourney.
La Conner (6-1, 13-6) squares off with Friday Harbor (3-4, 8-10) this Friday, Feb. 9 in the last league game on the schedule.
If the Braves win, they share the league crown with Coupeville, but get the #1 seed to districts based on a pre-season tiebreaker draw by league athletic directors.
But if Friday Harbor stands tall and KO’s La Conner, the Wolves are solo NWL champs and get the best playoff draw.
The #1 seed from District 1 hosts the #2 team from District 2 (Northwest Christian of Lacey) Feb. 12, while the #2 seed goes on the road to play top-seeded Auburn Adventist Academy.
Win or lose, both teams will be at CHS Feb. 14 (and maybe Feb. 17), as Coupeville hosts the remainder of the double-elimination tourney, where two teams will qualify for state.
You can see the bracket here:
https://www.wpanetwork.com/wiaa/brackets/tournament.php?act=view&tournament_id=4209
Tuesday’s tilt on the mainland was a chance for the Wolves to showcase their depth, with three players hitting double digit scoring and six sharing the offensive load.
Coupeville’s seniors, on a mission from the hoops gods. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)
But while Coupeville basked in balance, it’s Ryan Blouin, the pride of Kapaw’s Iskreme, younger brother of noted gunner Alita “The Assassin” Blouin, who will haunt La Conner for decades.
When Braves fans want to scare their young children in the future, they’ll tell them about the time he came to town, raining down hot death from above.
Did he miss? Maybe a couple of times, but it didn’t feel that way, as Blouin popped a trio of three-balls through the net in the first quarter, sparking CHS to a 15-9 lead.
The game was actually scoreless for three-minutes-plus, before the teams combined to sink five straight treys in an explosion of sight and sound.
Blouin netted two of those shots from behind the arc, and Coupeville trailed 9-6 for the briefest of moments.
A short jumper from Chase Anderson, off a pass from Cole White, cut the deficit to one, before the terror from Cow Town put the Wolves ahead for good.
Blouin’s three-ball had barely popped out of the bottom of the net before running mate Logan Downes cranked his own epic shot through the twines.
Coupeville kept pushing, mixing in a lot of old-fashioned, but very effective, two-point shots as it surged to a 27-12 lead heading into halftime.
La Conner’s marksmen hit a collective dry spell, and the Wolves responded, cleaning the boards with a cold fury and getting out and running whenever possible.
Defense fueled the run, from Hunter Bronec gettin’ brawny with a nasty rejection of a wayward Braves shot, to Anderson outleaping his rivals to snare caroms.
The hosts rediscovered their shooting touch after halftime.
Or, just gave the ball to Ivory Damien and let him go to work, as the silky smooth La Conner senior ripped off 34 of his game-high 37 points after the break.
Most of his shots were straight-up line drives, which barely rippled the net as they hit paydirt.
But while Damien was smokin’ hot, Coupeville never crumpled, and never gave up the lead as it did in the earlier matchup.
Each time La Conner threatened to make a run, the Wolves responded, dropping counter punches from every angle.
Blouin knifed the Braves with another trio of three-balls in the third quarter, while Downes nailed a sweet pullup jumper set up by Nick Guay ripping a rebound loose while being pummeled by La Conner players.
Up 41-32 heading into the fourth, Coupeville never let their rivals get closer than six points.
Still hobbled by a leg injury, Downes chose his moments, and slammed the door shut with a 10-point burst in the final frame.
Equally big time was White, who scored all six of his points in the game’s final four minutes, each one of his three shots a giant “Be quiet!” to La Conner fans.
“A bucket for me, a knee to the nads for you, my good sir.” (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)
Not even the hometown scoreboard operator trying to give the Braves three points for two free throws — after a ref got huffy about … something … and T’d up the Wolves — could slow Coupeville’s roll.
Win in hand, Cow Town’s finest headed back to the bus with a skip to their step and their eyes firmly focused on the next stage.
Five days to get ready and find out where they’ll open the playoffs, five days to prepare for punching their ticket to state for the second time in three seasons after a three-decade absence.
Enjoy the moment but finish the job.
For now, the Wolves will look at the scorebook and enjoy the view, with Blouin leading the way with a career-high 22 points.
Downes chipped in with 17, Anderson knocked down another 13, White popped for six, and the Battlin’ Bronec Brothers added seven, with Hurlee netting five and Hunter two.
And, because we can’t let a stats moment slip by, a brief shoutout to Downes, who has now rattled the rims for 452 points this season, even after essentially sitting out the Chief Leschi game.
That is the fourth-best single-season performance by a Wolf boy, and comes on the heels of last season, when he hit #2 by peppering the net for 544 points.
And Blouin?
His 22 points Tuesday gives him 177 for his career, leaving him just a bucket away from cracking the top 150 Wolf scorers all-time.
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