Camden Glover owns the paint. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)
No late game angina this time around.
After pulling out five-point wins twice against Orcas Island this season, the Coupeville High School varsity boys’ basketball team decided to be much more emphatic Tuesday night.
So, defending their home court in style, the Wolves used a second-half surge to blow open a tense affair, claiming a 57-40 win.
The victory, coming in a loser-out District 1/2 playoff bout, lifts CHS to 9-13 and keeps alive the dream of returning to the state tourney.
Brad Sherman’s squad needs two more wins to get back to the big dance, with the first of those coming Thursday at home against Auburn Adventist Academy.
That game is set to tip at 3:30 PM, after the Wolf girls host Orcas Island at 1:45.
Knock off their private school foes and Coupeville’s boys return to their home floor Saturday to face either La Conner or Mount Vernon Christian with a ticket to state up for grabs.
While they need three wins in five days, the Wolves focused fully on taking the first step without looking too far ahead.
As expected, the third matchup with the Vikings started as a donnybrook, then got intense from there.
The teams traded buckets in the first quarter, with Hunter Bronec knocking down a huge three-ball and Chase Anderson cartwheeling to the hoop for a layup to stake CHS to an 11-10 lead at the break.
The second quarter opened with a bang, as Malachi Somes went coast-to-coast, dropping his shoulder and staggering his defender as he slapped home a crowd-pleasing bucket.
Malachi Somes comes delivering presents. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)
Neither team could pull away, exchanging one-point leads, until the Battlin’ Bronec Brothers delivered a little razzle and some dazzle to cap the half.
Hurlee Bronec netted a free throw to forge an 18-18 tie, before twin terror Hunter Bronec buried another three-ball right before the halftime buzzer.
Up 21-18 coming out of halftime, the Wolves pushed the lead to 27-22, then hit their one and only dry spell of the second half.
Orcas crashed hard to the hoop on back-to-back plays, drawing fouls and converting buckets, and a 9-2 surge gave the visitors their last lead of the night.
While the Vikings might have felt some positive vibes in the air with a 31-29 advantage, all that vanished as Coupeville took control.
Hurlee Bronec twirled through the paint for a pair of pretty buckets, packaged around a sweet three-ball from the left side by Camden Glover, and things had changed.
Coupeville closed the third on a 10-0 sprint, staking itself to a 39-31 lead, and didn’t let up as the fourth frame began.
Glover and Hurlee Bronec both pulled off three-point plays the hard way, slicing up the defense to score, followed by converting a free throw, and Orcas ran out of answers.
The Vikings began to clang shot after shot, with the Wolves dominating on the boards, and once Jack Porter flipped home a reverse layup while floating through the air, the game was decided.
Tomorrow’s stars make some noise today. (Deb Sherman photo)
“I believe we will win,” bellowed the next generation of Wolf hoops stars, as they kept the noise and the funk going in the stands, and down on the court their elders backed up their boasts.
Coupeville closed the playoff win with a final 8-3 surge, with six of those points coming at the foul line as the Vikings tried to slow down the crawl of time.
Ultimately it didn’t work, which is why Orcas will start thinking about spring sports Wednesday, while the Wolves will prep for another playoff clash.
Landon Roberts may get knocked down, but he always gets back up. (Coupeville Yearbook Staff photo)
All seven CHS players who hit the floor Tuesday scored, with three netting double-digits.
Hunter Bronec popped for a team-high 15, while Hurlee Bronec banked in 13 and Glover knocked down 10.
Anderson (9), Porter (4), Landon Roberts (4), and Somes (2) rounded out the scoring, with Anderson moving from #40 to #39 on the CHS boys’ career scoring chart, which covers 1917-2025.
The Wolf junior sits with 585 points heading into the matchup with Auburn Adventist Academy, having passed ’50s legend Pat Clark (583) Tuesday night.
