Coupeville boys drop third straight

A quick glance and one can tell height isn’t an asset to the Coupeville boys basketball team.

Only four players stand at 6-feet or taller and none of those athletes are taller than 6-foot-2.

What they don’t have in size, however, the Wolves make up for in quickness and ability to shoot the ball.

In fact, Coupeville’s early season marksmanship was so solid, they started the season 3-0 in league and 8-3 overall.

What began as a strength, however, has hampered CHS of late.

Most recently Coupeville’s cold shooting led them to a 67-40 home loss to Archbishop Murphy on Friday night. The defeat marked the team’s third in a row, dropping them to 3-2 in the Northwest A and 8-6 overall.

“If we’re not shooting the ball well, things get a lot harder for us,” head coach Randy King said.

Things were very difficult for Coupeville Friday.

The Wolves struggled to put the ball in the basket, shooting a frigid 32 percent. Normally a strong three point shooting team, they only made two for the entire contest and didn’t hit their first until sophomore Mike Bagby nailed one with 5:30 left in the third quarter.

Archbishop Murphy, on the other hand, was lighting up the nets. The Wildcats shot a combined 56 percent from the field, picking up many of their baskets on second chance opportunities.

“They’re a big strong team,” King said. “Rebounding was really tough. There were so many times when we were rebounding and their arms were six inches above ours.”

The Wildcats, who have nine players over 6-feet, out-rebounded the Wolves 29-11.

By halftime, Archbishop’s second-chance scores helped them to a 28-18 advantage. Six-foot-six Chris Mitchell, along with 6-foot-4 Wes Taylor had 10 points apiece at the half.

Coupeville pulled within eight, when Bagby hit the first basket of the second half, but that’s as close as the Wolves got.

Coupeville continued to struggle with shooting and finding a defensive answer for Mitchell, who finished with a game-high 26.

The Wolves maintained the lead once early in the game, after senior Eric Taylor drained a long two-point attempt to put them up 8-6 with 4:30 to go in the first quarter. Taylor had eight points in the first period, finishing with a team-high 14.

“Eric had a real nice night,” King said.

As of Tuesday afternoon, Coupeville sat in a tie with Concrete for the second place spot in the Northwest A. The Wolves faced Friday Harbor last night and take on Concrete at 7:30 p.m., Friday, Jan. 30 in a crucial league match up.

Archbishop 16 12 21 18–67

Coupeville 10 8 13 9—40

Scoring—CV: Taylor 14, Black 12, Marti 7, Bagby 5, Day 2.

ATM: Mitchell 26, Taylor 21, Jensen 8, Talge 4, Hagel 4, Ungs 2, Terhar 2.

Comment on this story.

COMMENTING RULES: We encourage an open exchange of ideas in our online community, but we ask you to follow our guidelines for respecting community standards. In a nutshell, don't say anything you wouldn't want your mother to read. Please see our FAQ if you have questions or concerns about using Facebook to comment.