Riley Lawless powers through the paint. (Photos by JohnsPhotos.net)
No fear.
King’s has supreme name value in the basketball world, but the Coupeville Middle School boys didn’t back down at all Thursday afternoon.
While the Wolves lost all three games on their home court, they hung tough in two of the bouts, and had flashes of strong play in the other.
How the day played out:
Level 1:
Coupeville fought King’s virtually even in the second half, but a couple of first-half breakdowns ultimately doomed the Wolves in a 48-29 loss.
CMS came out with a nice intensity, jumping to a 5-2 lead after a three-point play the hard way from Jayden McManus and a basket in the paint off the fingertips of Riley Lawless.
The Knights responded by employing a full-court press, and flustered the Wolves a bit, however.
With most of its buckets coming on plays in which it was out and running, converting turnovers into breakaways, King’s closed the first quarter on a 13-2 run.
Coupeville responded with a three-ball from Carson Grove to open the second frame, cutting its deficit back to 15-10.
Then, the baskets dried up for a bit, as the Wolves failed to hit another field goal over the final six minutes-plus of the half.
A pair of free throws in the waning moments — one each from Nic Laska and Lawless — broke the cold spell, but CMS found itself down 28-12 at the break.
King’s stretched its lead to 35-14 midway through the third quarter, before the Wolves responded with an 11-0 surge of their own.
Chayse Van Velkinburgh hit a sweet runner in the paint, lobbing the ball high up and over a defender’s outstretched arms, then McManus knocked down three straight buckets to end the third quarter.
One came on a smooth move in the paint, another off of a steal, and the third on an offensive rebound put back up and in under extreme pressure.
Toss in a three-ball from Van Velkinburgh to open the final frame, and things were getting considerably more interesting for Wolf fans.
It wasn’t to be, though, as the Knights proved to be strong closers, capping things with a 13-4 rally which included a trio of three-balls and a couple of put-backs off of rebounds.
While King’s played platoon ball — subbing in a fresh five players at a time — Coupeville got by with just seven warriors, with its starters playing most of the minutes.
McManus, back on the floor after missing a game with illness, paced the Wolves with 13 points, while Lawless (7), Van Velkinburgh (5), Grove (3), and Laska (1) also scored.
Joshua Stockdale gave CMS a burst of energy off the bench, with Davin Houston hitting the boards with savage intensity.
Level 2:
The roughest game of the day for the Wolves, as they absorbed a 46-8 loss.
King’s threw down the first 28 points of the contest, before Nathan Niewald broke free for an end-to-end run which resulted in a crowd-pleasing layup.
Coupeville’s remaining points came courtesy of three-balls from sharpshooters Roger Merino-Martinez and Liam Lawson.
Making his season debut, Merino-Martinez was a fireball on both ends of the floor, also picking up a blocked shot on a play in which he chased down a rival shooter who thought he was free to rumble.
Spoiler: he was not.
Dylan Robinett, Hunter Atteberry, Cyrus Sparacio, Jacob Barajas, Kenneth Jacobsen, and Charles Hart rounded out the rotation for the Wolves, who fought hard and remained scrappy until the final buzzer.
Level 3:
Take away the first quarter, and this was a brawl.
The visitors used a 10-1 surge in the opening frame, then hung on for a 31-15 victory in a game that got more competitive the further it went.
Coupeville put together its best seven-minute stretch in the third quarter, with Sparacio and Merino-Martinez splashing three-balls on back-to-back trips down the floor.
The Wolves spread out their offense between four players, with Merino-Martinez rattling the rims for five points, while Johnathan Jacobsen (4), Barajas (3), and Sparacio (3) flipped the net.
Khanor Jump, Zach Blitch, Atteberry, Dillin Kastner, Kenneth Jacobsen, and Jacob Meadors also saw floor time for Coupeville, which plays its next two games on the road.
CMS heads to Granite Falls Dec. 5, then visits Northshore Christian Dec. 7.
Zach Blitch keeps a watchful eye on his man in a recent game.
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