On paper, the game shouldn’t have been close.
The first-place Port Townsend High School boys basketball team came to Coupeville Friday, Jan. 20, with the Olympic League’s best record, 6-0 (12-3), to face the Wolves, who sat at the opposite end of the standings at 1-4, 1-12.
Coupeville, however, gave the Redhawks all they could handle before falling 62-59.
Port Townsend’s Jacob Boucher drilled a three-pointer with 2.5 seconds remaining to help the Redhawks escape an upset.
Coupeville (1-5, 1-13) has two huge games this week in its quest for one of the conference’s three playoff berths. The Wolves are a half game behind third-place Klahowya (1-4, 3-12) and play the Eagles in Silverdale at 3:45 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 24.
Klahowya and Coupeville split their first two meetings, and the winner of the third will most likely claim the final playoff spot.
The Wolves go to second-place Chimacum (3-3, 3-10) at 6 p.m. Friday, Jan. 27.
Coupeville’s loss to Port Townsend Friday was the Wolves fourth straight game when they played well but came up short on the scoreboard.
The strong showing was a “cumulation of everything we have been trying to do,” assistant coach Dustin VanVelkinburgh, who as subbing for head coach Anthony Smith, said.
“The big difference was our decision making and shot making.”
The Wolves have struggled from the field this season, but “tonight we made those shots,” VanVelkinburgh said.
“The kids played inspired because their coach wasn’t here,” he added. “It lit a fire under them.”
That fire was evident early as Coupeville went up 5-0 at the beginning, pushed the lead to 14-5 and led 17-13 after the first quarter.
Gabe Wynn, who hit big shots all night, canned a trio of three-pointers in the period.
Port Townsend, which trailed by 9 points at one point, eventually took the lead, 25-23, with 2:49 left in the half.
Coupeville could have easily crumbled after seeing its advantage disappear, but it didn’t. Each time PT threatened to pull away, the Wolves responded.
Wynn notched another three and Hunter Smith scored off a nice assist from Cameron Toomey-Stout, and Coupeville led 28-26 going into the locker room.
The Redhawks took a 38-33 lead late in the third quarter, and Wolves countered to even the game at 42.
Port Townsend raced ahead, 56-48, with 5:31 remaining, then the Wolves, once again, fought back into the game.
Brain Shank bookended a pair of buckets around a hoop by Ethan Spark, and Coupeville was within two, 56-54, with 3:32 remaining.
Redhawk Detrius Kelsall hit his third three-pointer of the period to make it 59-54.
Free throw shooting has been an adventure all season for Coupeville, but Smith calmly drilled a pair (the Wolves finished 7-for-8 from the stripe for the game) with 1:27 left to bring the Wolves within two.
After Kelsall missed two free throws, Coupeville missed a shot, but Shank out-hustled Port Townsend for the rebound and dished to Wynn, who knocked down his seventh three-pointer of the game (believed to be a single game school record) to even the score at 59 with 40 seconds left.
That set up Boucher’s game winner.
Of the five Redhawks in the game, Boucher had the fewest points and was the player Coupeville wanted to force to take the final shot, VanVelkinburgh said.
“Basketball is crazy,” VanVelkinburgh said. “You get 60/70 possessions in a game and it comes down to the last shot.”
Wynn finished with 26 points, Spark 11, Smith 10, Shank 8, Joey Lippo 2 and Toomey-Stout 2.
Hunter Downes missed the game because of an injury.
Berkley Hill tallied 22 and Kelsall 16 for Port Townsend.
Port Townsend’s final five baskets were all three-pointers.
VanVelkinburgh said the focus of the game was “just compete.”
He said the seven players who saw action “did just that; they competed to the best of their abilities.”
Gabe Wynn pulls up for a jumper. Wynn led Coupeville with 26 points, including hitting a school record seven three-pointers. (Photo by John Fisken)
Brian Shank converts a layup in Friday’s game with Port Townsend. (Photo by John Fisken)
Coupeville’s Cameron Toomey-Stout sets up for a shot. (Photo by John Fisken)
Ethan Spark tries to get around the defense of Noa Montoya. (Photo by John Fisken)
