Wolves' offense evaporates

Things started out on the right track for the Coupeville boys Friday night, but they certainly didn’t end as planned.

A cold shooting second half and lack of ability to rebound against LaConner cost the Wolves a 53-40 loss in their final home game of the season.

“In the first half we played great D—we really had them buffaloed there for a while,” head coach Randy King said.

CHS built a 25-23 halftime advantage behind the 16 points of senior Alan Black and used a tenacious team defense that created seven first-half turnovers.

The second half, however, was a different story for CHS.

Coupeville struggled to find the back of the net and allowed numerous second-chance opportunities by the Braves.

The Wolves hit a frigid 7-of-30 of shots (23-percent) in the second half, three of which came in the fourth quarter. They were only 15-for-54 (27-percent) on the night.

“That’s a tough night shooting,” King said.

Not only did the 15 total second-half points hurt Coupeville, but getting out-rebounded 30-13 didn’t help the cause.

“That combination is why you only end up scoring 40 points,” King said.

The halftime lead was the last the Wolves saw, as the Braves rattled off six straight points to begin the third quarter and never looked back.

Three Brave players scored in double figures, led by Johnny Grosslglass with 18.

Black had a game-high 22 points, but was the only Wolf to score in double figures.

The LaConner win moved them into a third place tie with Coupeville, giving both teams 5-4 league records. The Wolves played at first place Archbishop Murphy last night, while LaConner hosted second place Friday Harbor.

The top two teams in the Northwest A are guaranteed a trip to the Tri-District tournament, while the number three team must face the number three team from the Chinook league in order to advance to districts.

Numerous scenarios could play out around the league depending on last night’s results.

King knows one thing for certain.

“If we win (against Archbishop Murphy) we’re definitely having a post-season,” he said.

Results from last night’s game will be in the Saturday edition of the News-Times.

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