Hunter Smith kicked off his senior season Wednesday by scorching Blaine’s defense for 24 points. (Photos by JohnsPhotos.net)
Mason Grove also had 24 in the JV game, but all of his points came off of three-point bombs.
It was a long trip, but they scorched some nets while they were there.
Opening a new season Wednesday, with new coaches at the helm, the Coupeville High School boys basketball teams traveled way up to the border to face perennial 2A powerhouse Blaine.
And while both Wolf squads fell, they also both had the hottest shooter on the court, as senior Hunter Smith and sophomore Mason Grove dropped 24 points apiece.
Smith’s came in a variety of ways, as the CHS varsity staged a solid fourth-quarter rally before falling 50-41.
For Grove, it was three-balls all day long, as he rained down eight treys to provide most of the Wolf offense as the JV lost 71-34.
Varsity:
Former Wolf star Brad Sherman made his debut as the new head coach, and his team’s current star was in mid-season form.
Smith tallied five points in the first quarter, then tacked on four, six and nine across the next three periods, as he bedeviled the Borderite defense.
The 24 points raises Smith’s career total to 489.
With that, he passes Sean Dillon and Pat O’Grady on the career scoring list, moving closer to becoming only the 42nd male player in the program’s 101-year history to top 500 points.
One of those guys he’s chasing is Sherman, who graduated in 2003 with 874 points to his credit.
While he didn’t get a win in his first game, Coupeville’s new coach came away pleased with much of what he saw as the Wolves used a 16-7 fourth-quarter run to cut an 18-point deficit in half.
“Boys fought hard. Blaine had a big height advantage, which hurt us a little, but we adjusted well,” Sherman said. “Few guys in foul trouble early on our end, which always presents some challenges.
“With that said – I thought our kids played a heck of a defensive game as a unit,” he added. “Really aggressive and able to get our hands in a lot of passing lanes.”
Smith paced the Wolves with 10 rebounds, while Ethan Spark added five.
Sherman also praised Cameron Toomey-Stout, who “was a beast on defense,” and Joey Lippo, who “had a heck of a defensive game.”
Coupeville had its shot, or shots, at taking down the Borderites, but the rim was unforgiving at times.
“On offense, I thought we moved the ball well and did a pretty good job waiting for good shots,” Sherman said. “Really, what it came down to tonight was a ton of open looks that we didn’t connect on.
“On a lot of nights, a few more of those fall and we are right there at the end.”
Spark tossed in eight points to back Smith, while Lippo (6), Hunter Downes (2) and Toomey-Stout (1) rounded out the offensive attack.
“Obviously you always want that W, but I’m proud of how the boys played and fought tonight against a good basketball team, on the road,” Sherman said. “Now, we learn a few things from it, and get back to our goal of just improving every day.”
JV:
The game was close for a quarter, as Koa Davison swished a three-ball at the buzzer to knot things at 16-16 at the end of the first quarter.
Grove netted three of his long shots in the first, then tacked on two more in the second and three in the third, but Blaine proved to be too much in the end.
“We battled hard but could not keep up with Blaine’s numbers,” said CHS coach Chris Smith. “Ultimately foul trouble and running out of steam as Blaine ran line changes at us allowed them to slowly but consistently creep away.”
Davison and Ulrik Wells both dropped in four points apiece to back Grove, while Jake Pease added a bucket and was “a monster on the boards!”
“I love that we never quit battling and we walked off the floor with our heads held high,” Smith said.
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