The lack of experience of the Oak Harbor and Coupeville high school boys basketball teams was evident in the teams’ season-opening lopsided losses Tuesday, Nov. 29.

Both Whidbey Island teams return only two members from last year’s varsity squads, and both struggled against pressure defenses as Oak Harbor lost 64-31 at Monroe and Coupeville fell 72-28 at home to Blaine.

Bearcats roll early

Monroe, unlike Oak Harbor, put a veteran team on the court, including four returning regulars. The Bearcats jumped all over Oak Harbor from the outset, outscoring the Wildcats 19-5 in the first quarter.

“We got off to a slow start,” coach John Weston said. “We definitely looked like a young team, with a bunch of guys who were playing in their first varsity game. We did not handle Monroe’s pressure defense very well.

“They outplayed us and deserved to win.”

Weston noted that Monroe changed their defensive scheme from last year, which contributed to his team’s slow start.

“Last year they ran a lot of zone, so that was what we were expecting,” he said. “They came out and threw a completely different defense at us, so we were not as prepared as we would have liked.”

Monroe built a 35-11 halftime lead, then the Wildcats outscored the Bearcats 10-9 in the third quarter.

“We played a much better second half and the guys were able to make adjustments,” Weston said.

Weston lauded the play of his two returnees, Adam Nelson and Malcolm Jackson: “Adam was aggressive and showed some leadership. Their big guy, (Colby) Kyle, is quite a player, and I thought Malcolm did a good job slowing him down.”

Nelson topped Oak Harbor in scoring with 8 points. Jackson and JJ Mitchell had 6 each; Ty Baker and Haven Brown added 4 apiece; and Weston Whitefoot netted 3.

Trenton Newhouse paced Monroe with 25; Kyle finished with 13.

Oak Harbor (0-1) goes to Lakewood (0-0) at 7:15 p.m. Friday, Dec. 2, and then plays its home opener at 7:15 Saturday, Dec. 3, against Mount Baker (0-0).

Blaine’s press pesters Wolves

Blaine outscored Coupeville 49-11 in the middle periods thanks to multiple scoring opportunities produced by its full- and half-court presses.

The Borderites turned three Coupeville turnovers into a 7-0 run midway through the opening period to take a 14-7 lead into the second quarter.

Blaine’s press did even more damage in the second period when the Borderites outscored the Wolves 25-4. At one point, the Borderites scored 22 straight points, 10 of the final 11 coming after Coupeville mistakes.

Coupeville coach Anthony Smith used three timeouts during the run to try to settle his club down.

“We had some young guys who haven’t played much, and it showed,” Smith said. “Blaine went to the half-court trap, and it took us out of our game.

“It was kind of a physical game, and we have to be ready to step up for that.”

Smith saw some positives in the game: “At times we played good defense, and we showed a little bit in the fourth quarter.”

Coupeville outscored the Borderites 10-9 in the final period with the help of five points from reserve Jered Brown.

“We’ll watch some film and learn from it and move on,” Smith said. “We just have to improve in practice, and we just have to get our feet wet.”

Hunter Smith led the Wolves with 11 points. Brown and Gabe Wynn picked up 5 each; Brian Shank had 3; and Steven Cope and Ariah Bepler added 2 apiece.

Ben Adams poured in 27 for Blaine.

Coupeville (0-1) hosts Sultan (0-1) at 7 p.m. Friday, Dec. 2.