Joey Lippo scored a season-high 11 Friday, netting three shots from behind the three-point line. (John Fisken photo)
Sometimes, no matter what you do, you can’t catch a break.
It has seemed that way of late for the Coupeville High School varsity boys’ basketball squad, which got emotionally knifed in the back for a second straight game Friday night.
Down by three with time running out, playing on the road, the Wolves forced non-conference foe Mount Vernon Christian to turn the ball over with 8.8 seconds to play.
CHS set up a play in the timeout, then ran it perfectly, with Joey Lippo hitting Hunter Smith, and Coupeville’s #1 scorer promptly drilling a game-tying three-ball.
Barring a miracle shot at the buzzer, the Wolves were headed to overtime for the second straight game.
Except…
Adding another layer of frustration to a season that has already had more than its fair share, the refs waved off the three, saying Lippo had narrowly stepped out of bounds while making the pass.
One Coupeville foul and two MVC free throws later, the Wolves headed home with a 54-49 loss despite one of their best efforts of the season.
The defeat, which came despite a season-best performance at the line and seven three-balls which the refs did count, drops CHS to 1-12.
Coupeville came out strongly, building a 17-15 lead after one quarter of play.
Lippo, Ethan Spark and Gabe Wynn each knocked down five points in the early going as the Wolves spread out the offensive load.
Wynn and Lippo drilled treys in the second quarter, Hunter Smith hit four free throws (Coupeville was 9-11 at the charity stripe as a team) and CHS went in the locker room up 27-21.
Unfortunately, the offense dried up a bit in the second half, allowing the Hurricanes to grab control of the lead.
But with the Wolves staying efficient from behind the arc, they stayed close up until getting their legs taken out from beneath them by the refs in the frantic finale.
Lippo and Smith each went for 11 to pace Coupeville, while Wynn hit for eight and Spark drained five.
Brian Shank (4), Cameron Toomey-Stout (3), Hunter Downes (2) and Steven Cope (2) rounded out the scoring attack, with Ariah Bepler chipping in on the defensive side of the ball.
And yes, if you’re adding that up, it equals 46 and not 49.
There was a similar issue on the MVC side of the book as once again road bookkeepers fail to match up to the standard set by CHS home numbers cruncher June Mazdra.
Coupeville Sports 