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Posts Tagged ‘SWISH’

Young Wolves howl, Part 2: Big Buckets!!

Posted in Boys Basketball, tagged , , , , on March 1, 2015| Leave a Comment »

Daniel Olson

Daniel Olson poured in eight in his team’s win Saturday. (Olivia Kelley photos)

Proud moms

Proud moms do time in the stands.

Tired? No. On fire? Yes.

With a chunk of its roster having played a soccer game earlier in the day Saturday, the Coupeville 6th grade boys’ SWISH basketball squad wasn’t rested, but it didn’t need to be.

Overcoming a rough-and-tumble Burlington-Edison squad that had two players foul out and its coach and a player earn technicals for profanity, the Wolves romped to a 38-26 win.

The victory capped the regular season, and Coupeville (6-3) will open the playoffs against the same squad next Saturday, Mar. 7 at Skagit Valley College (11:15 AM tip-off).

The Wolves are clicking as the season progresses, and have played their best ball down the stretch.

“Very, very proud of these young men,” said Coupeville coach Pat Kelley. “A pleasure to coach and watch!!!”

Coming on strong after a morning on the soccer pitch, Jake Mitten and Matthew Kelley combined for 25 points and 31 rebounds.

They were matched by Sage Downes and Daniel Olson, who “tore the Tigers open with speed, forcing B-E into a running game to catch up.”

“The Four Horsemen (Downes, Mitten, Olson and Kelley) are something to watch when they are clicking,” Pat Kelley said.

Those four players accounted for all of Coupeville’s scoring, with Kelley banging home three long-range treys on his way to a team-high 14.

Mitten pounded down low for 11, Olson hit for eight and Downes netted five.

Cleaning up the boards with a vengeance, the Wolves snatched 43, including 14 on the offensive end.

Kelley had 17, followed by Mitten (14), Michael Laska (3), Downes (3), Erik Webster (2), Olson (2), Alex Jimenez (1) and Raimee Anderson (1).

Downes made off with a team-high six steals, while Kelley dished out a pair of assists.

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Primed for the playoffs!!

Posted in Boys Basketball, tagged , , , , on February 22, 2015| Leave a Comment »

Jake MItten refuels. (Olivia Kelley photo)

Jake Mitten refuels. (Olivia Kelley photo)

They’re getting hot at the right time.

Riding a late-season hot streak, the Coupeville 6th grade boys’ SWISH basketball squad nipped Ferndale 37-33 Saturday to seize control of their own playoff destiny.

With one game left in the regular season — Saturday, Feb. 28 against Burlington-Edison — the Wolves sit at 4-3.

Win their finale and they get a playoff opener against Friday Harbor, a team currently on a four-game losing skid.

Facing off with a tough Ferndale team, Coupeville fought valiantly through a game that saw seven lead changes.

The final switch came when the Wolves went on a 6-0 tear to go in front 20-17. After that, they never relinquished the lead again.

Jake Mitten was a beast, dropping 17 points, snatching 12 rebounds, making off with two steals and rejecting a pair of shots, despite being tied to the bench for a third of the game with foul trouble.

Matthew Kelley (11 points, seven rebounds, five assists, four steals), Sage Downes (six points, four steals), Daniel Olson (three points, three assists and two steals) filled up the stat sheet in support.

While they didn’t score, Dakota Eck, Alex Jimenez and Erik Webster “were animals on defense and controlled the paint down low,” said coach Pat Kelley.

Logan Downes, playing against guys three grades older than he is, “was instrumental in the final two minutes of press defense, preventing Ferndale from scoring or controlling the ball.”

Michael Laska and Raimee Anderson chipped in with stellar ‘d,’ helping to lead the attack on the ball at mid court, forcing several turnovers.

With one game to play, nine of the ten players on the roster have scored, led by Kelley (65 points), Sage Downes (63), Mitten (48), and Olson (44).

The Wolves have combined for 238 points (34 a game) and 175 rebounds.

Kelley has 78 rebounds and 27 steals, followed by Mitten (64, 18), Sage Downes (29, 27) and Olson (24, 14).

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You shall not pass (or score)!!

Posted in Boys Basketball, tagged , , , , , , , on February 15, 2015| Leave a Comment »

"The defense is OK, but

“I told ’em, you stay in that man-to-man defense and you box out like a beast. They listened … for once.” (Olivia Kelley photo)

The defense was inspired.

Holding Arlington scoreless until a buzzer beater at the end of the third quarter Saturday, the Coupeville 6th grade boys’ basketball SWISH squad rolled to a convincing 24-6 victory.

The win lifted the Wolves to 4-3 with two games to play in the regular season.

Coupeville closes with match-ups against Ferndale and Burlington-Edison before starting the postseason push.

Facing a hack-happy Arlington team that eventually fouled out three players (and had a fourth benched for his behavior), the Wolves rolled out to a 14-0 lead at the half.

After a brief 6-2 run by their rivals, Coupeville closed out the game with another 10 straight, many from the free-throw line.

Matthew Kelley paced the Wolves, hitting for 10, with a three-point bomb and seven charity stripe shots. He also snatched 14 rebounds to nail down his second double-double of the season.

Sage Downes (four points, nine rebounds, three blocked shots), Daniel Olson (four points, four rebounds, two blocked shots), Jake Mitten (three points, six steals, eight rebounds), Alex Jimenez (two points) and Dakota Eck (one point, two steals) all filled up the stat sheet as well.

When they weren’t scoring, the Wolves were lights out on defense.

“They were a solid wall with Olson and Sage wreaking havoc on Arlington’s guards while Kelley, Mitten and Eck would not permit shots in the paint or lower perimeter,” said Coupeville coach Pat Kelley. “Jimenez and Erik Webster assisted down low repeatedly stopping Arlington’s attempts to enter the paint or shoot anything other then a far three attempt.

“Logan Downes and Michael Laska assisted on the top of the key with a stifling attack that prevented Arlington from moving the ball,” he added. “Defensively it was the best game of the season.”

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Cool under pressure!!

Posted in Boys Basketball, tagged , , , , , on February 8, 2015| Leave a Comment »

Michael

   Coupeville coach Pat Kelley (left) offers sage advice turning a timeout. (Olivia Kelley photo)

It was a close game until the other team self-destructed.

A foul-happy Burlington-Edison squad fell apart in the game’s final two-and-a-half minutes Saturday, picking up a crucial technical and accidentally shooting at their own basket.

That allowed the Coupeville 6th grade SWISH team, which remained as cool as the other side of the pillow, to close on a 13-3 run, scampering away with a 35-25 win that brought their record to 3-3 on the season.

With Burlington hammering Coupeville’s leading scorer, Matthew Kelley, every time he touched the ball — even hitting him in the head on a buzzer-beating three-point bomb at the end of the first half — the Wolves spread out their offense.

The slick-shooting Sage Downes poured in 12 to pace Coupeville, while Daniel Olson netted nine and Kelley racked up six.

Jake Mitten banked home four, including putting back a rebound after Burlington shot at their own hoop and Dakota Eck rounded out the scoring with a bucket.

The game was knotted at 22 when Burlington was whistled for a technical for an illegal substitution — and much prolonged complaining — and the Wolves took advantage.

Running an effective press, Coupeville spent the final two minutes terrorizing the Tiger ball-handlers into committing numerous turnovers and then turning the loose balls into easy buckets.

The Wolves now head into a rematch with Arlington next weekend. They won 31-28 in the first go-round.

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Courage under fire!!

Posted in Boys Basketball, tagged , , , , on February 1, 2015| Leave a Comment »

(Olivia Kelley photos)

The view from the Wolf bench. (Olivia Kelley photos)

Pat Kelley

Coupeville coach Pat Kelley offers some strategy during a timeout.

It was an honorable loss.

Facing off with a top-level AAU team that was coming off a dominating performance at the MLK Tournament in Bellingham, the Coupeville 6th grade SWISH boys’ basketball squad put up a considerable fight.

And, while the Wolves eventually fell 38-23 to the Hoopstars Saturday, it was much better than other teams have fared.

The Hoopstars entered the game averaging 46 points a game and have been beating foes by 20+ points. In their previous contest, they drilled Sedro-Woolley by 32.

With nothing to lose, the scrappy Wolves came out primed for battle from the opening tip.

Jake Mitten won the opening toss, tipping it to Sage Downes, who went hard to the basket, throwing down the bucket and drawing a foul in one explosive play.

Focusing on forcing the Hoopstars to beat them from long-distance, the Wolves rode a stingy defense to a 7-2 lead after one, resulting in the opposing coach offering a few choice words to her squad during the break.

The Hoopstars eventually broke through, however, hitting five consecutive three-point bombs to open up a lead they would never relinquish.

Still, Coupeville stayed tough inside, limiting the Hoopstars in the paint.

Logan Downes and Michael Laska, the mighty mites of the Wolf squad, led the charge in standing tough on defense and absorbing charges to draw offensive fouls.

On the offensive end of the court, Mitten “was an animal and on fire,” according to Coupeville coach Pat Kelley.

He paced the Wolves with 10 points, six rebounds and two steals, while Matthew Kelley dropped in six points, snatched six boards, rejected three shots and handed out four assists.

Sage Downes went for four points, two rebounds and six steals in support of the big two, with Daniel Olson chipping in with three points, three assists and two rebounds.

While their team absorbed a loss, the Wolf coaching staff was pleased with the grit shown against a premier program.

“Best play of the season by Coupeville,” Pat Kelley said. “Very seldom do you put plans in motion and the game goes as expected.

“It has been slow going in introducing the offense. Due to vacations and illness, the coaches took their time the past four weeks to bring the team on slowly,” he added. “Now that the team has their full offense and defense in place, they will work on perfecting the movement.

“A huge winning streak is anticipated versus some very worthy opponents.”

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