The Coupeville 6th grade SWISH basketball team hoists its trophy. (Pat Kelley photos)
Then Logan Downes (3) got hoisted, as well.
One loss at the wrong time stung the Wolves.
A “heartbreaking” 21-19 defeat at the hands of Burlington-Edison Saturday — a team they had beaten in the regular season — cost the Coupeville 6th grade SWISH boys’ basketball team a shot at a postseason title.
The Wolves rebounded, drilling Mount Vernon Mayhem 28-13 to capture fourth place in the season-ending “C-Fidalgo” Division Tournament.
But it was a bit of a missed opportunity as the four teams to advance to the semifinals were teams Coupeville (7-4 overall) had gone 5-0 against during the regular season.
The opener against Burlington pitted the Wolves against a defensive-minded team, and the score showed as much.
Matthew Kelley banged home a three-point bomb near the end of the first quarter to account for the only bucket in the opening frame.
Up 11-5 at the half, Coupeville went cold after the break, eventually surrendering the lead in the game’s final two minutes.
Kelley paced the Wolves with seven points while Jake Mitten dropped in six and snatched a team-high 14 boards. Sage Downes popped for four and Daniel Olson netted a bucket to round out the scoring.
The loss left a sour taste for a Wolf squad with high hopes.
“There was some crying, which we need to work out since the weekend was not over,” said Coupeville coach Pat Kelley.
Rebounding after a four-hour break, Coupeville ran the Mayhem, who were built like a football squad, off the floor.
“I played the little guys over half the game,” Pat Kelley said. “It was never really close and we had double their score most of the game. They had some garbage buckets at the end.”
Kelley and Downes each hit for nine in the second game, with Mitten hitting for six and Olson swishing four.
Twice Coupeville hit on a beautiful Olson to Kelley to Mitten fast-passing play that resulted in easy buckets.
“Ran this play to perfection,” Pat Kelley said. “Something to see; it takes less then two seconds. Their passing was on.”
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