Coupeville comes back to clip Concrete / Boys basketball
Published 1:30 am Monday, December 17, 2018
Clutch free-throw shooting and tough defense carried the Coupeville High School boys basketball team to its first win of the season, 43-42 at Concrete Friday, Dec. 14.
Down by 5 points, 38-33, heading into the final quarter, the Wolves limited Concrete to only 4 points while hitting eight of 10 foul shots — six by Ulrik Wells — to squeak out the non-league win.
Concrete still held a 5-point lead with about 2:30 remaining in the game. Hawthorne Wolfe connected on a pair of free throw, and then “Ulrik did the rest,” according to coach Brad Sherman.
Wells sank the Wolves’ only field goal of the quarter and then went 6-for-8 at the line.
Wells’ final two foul shots gave Coupeville the lead in the final minute, and “from there our guys just held on,” according to Sherman.
Concrete fired up a shot in the final seconds, but the Wolves snared the rebound and the win.
Free-throw shooting played a large role in the game.
The Lions hit three in the opening quarter to go up 11-9.
In the second period, Coupeville exploded for 16 points. Wolfe hit a pair of three-pointers, Mason Grave sank a three-ball and Wells scored 4 points to help Coupeville go up 25-22 at the break.
Concrete kept pace by sinking eight of 12 foul shots in the second quarter.
In the third period, the Lions made three of four at the stripe and Devin Blankenship scored 8 points as the Wolves saw their lead slip away, in part because they connected on only three of eight foul shots in the period.
Concrete (0-4) took a 38-33 lead into the final frame, setting up the Wolves’ dramatic finish.
Wells finished with 14 points, Wolfe 11, Sean Toomey-Stout 9, Jacobi Pilgrim 4, Grove 3 and Jered Brown 2.
Blankenship tallied 17 for the Lions.
Coupeville (0-1, 1-6) plays its final two non-league games this week, both on the road. The Wolves go to Port Townsend (4-3) at 6 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 20, and to Nooksack Valley (4-3) at 2:45 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 22.
