Smith leads Coupeville to critical win / Boys basketball

Published 1:30 am Thursday, January 26, 2017

Pulling both feet out of the grave and planting one firmly in the playoff race, the Coupeville High School boys basketball team rode the 34 points of Hunter Smith to a 60-58 win over Klahowya Tuesday, Jan. 24, in Silverdale.

The win solidified the Wolves’ chances of claiming the third and final Olympic League berth into the postseason. A loss would have all but eliminated Coupeville.

The win was only the second for the Wolves this season, but both were over the Eagles, helping Coupeville take the season series two games to one.

The Wolves (2-5, 2-13) now hold the tiebreaker over the Eagles (1-5, 3-13) as the regular season winds down.

Coupeville has two and Klahowya three conference games remaining. The Eagles will need to win at least two of those games and have Coupeville lose to leapfrog the Wolves into third place.

Coupeville could pass second-place Chimacum (3-3, 3-11), but the odds are slim.

In a must-win game for both teams, Coupeville proved its mettle by overcoming a seven-points deficit in the fourth quarter to defeat Klahowya.

The victory also took some of the sting out of three consecutive close losses.

Smith was the catalyst all night, and he received a strong helping hand from Gabe Wynn, who finished with 17 points.

Smith, a junior, ripped the nets for 13 first-quarter points, including three long balls; Wynn had a two and a three; Brian Shank tossed in a bucket; and the Wolves led 20-15 after one period.

Smith added 10 more points in the second quarter, but the Eagles exploded for 18 to knot the game at 33 heading into the locker room.

Klahowya remained hot in the third quarter to take a 49-42 cushion into the final frame.

Smith tallied 7 points in the fourth, Wynn 6, Shank 3 and Ethan Spark 2, and the Wolves needed them all to complete the comeback.

Free-throw shooting hasn’t been a strength for Coupeville this season, but the Wolves nailed eight of 12 (Wynn was 4-for-4) in the fourth quarter to help secure the win.

Shank ended the game with 6 points and Spark had 3.

Coupeville goes to Chimacum at 6 p.m. Friday, Jan. 27, has a home-and-home non-league series with Sequim next week, then closes out the regular season at Port Townsend (7-0, 12-3) at 6 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 4.

The home game with Sequim (2-14), which is the final regular-season home contest for the Wolves, is 3:30 p.m. Monday, Jan. 30.