Wolves win again, close in on playoff berth / Boys basketball

Published 1:30 am Monday, January 30, 2017

After winning only one of its first 14 games, the Coupeville High School boys basketball picked up its second in a row thanks to a 56-53 victory at Chimacum Friday, Jan. 27.

The win also helped the suddenly hot Wolves tighten their grip on a playoff berth.

Three of the four Olympic League 1A teams move on to the postseason, and the Wolves, who are currently in third place, are in good shape to earn a berth with just one conference game left.

Coupeville (3-5, 3-13) could jump over Chimacum (3-4, 3-12) into second place or drop below Klahowya (1-5, 3-13) into fourth, but both of those scenarios are unlikely.

Chimacum holds the tiebreaker over Coupeville after beating the Wolves twice in their three-game series; therefore, Coupeville has to finish with a better record than the Cowboys to claim second place.

Meanwhile, the Wolves own the tiebreaker with Klahowya, thus the Eagles need to move ahead of Coupeville to take third.

For Coupeville to get second, it needs to win at Port Townsend (7-0, 13-3) in the regular season finale Saturday, Feb 4, and Chimacum needs to drop its final two games to Klahowya.

For the Eagles to slip by Coupeville into third, they need to win their final three games (two with Chimacum and one with Port Townsend) and have the Wolves fall to Port Townsend.

A big second quarter helped Coupeville topple Chimacum Friday.

The teams were tied 13-13 after one period, then the Wolves outscored the Cowboys 18-8 in the second quarter to go up 31-21 at the break.

Hunter Smith scored 6 points in the first quarter and 14 in the second to ignite the Wolves.

Both teams were hot in the third quarter as Chimacum tallied 20 and Coupeville 18, and the Wolves continued to lead 49-41 going into the final period.

Ethan Spark scored 6 points for the Wolves in the third; Smith and Gabe Wynn added 4 each.

Spark added a three-ball in the fourth to help Coupeville hold off the Cowboys and snare the win.

Smith, who scored 34 points earlier in the week, continued his scoring surge with 26 Friday. Spark scored 11, Wynn 10, Brian Shank 5, Joey Lippo 2 and Steven Cope 2.

The Wolves helped their cause by drilling 13 of 15 free throws.

Issac Purser (14), Peyton Hundley (12) and Dylan Giessing (10) all scored in double figures for Chimacum.

Coupeville plays two non-league games with Sequim (2-15) before the finale with Port Townsend.

Sequim comes to Coupeville at 3:30 Monday, Jan. 30; the varsity girls will follow at 5:15.

The teams meet again in Sequim Thursday. The girls start at 3:30 and the boys at 5:15.