The Coupeville Wolves boys basketball team came out looking like they were the ones vying for a playoff position in Friday’s 70-64 loss to Archbishop Murphy.

With no chance of getting into the playoffs, the Coupeville seniors came out with pride, wanting to get a win in the last game of their careers.

“All the kids wanted to go out and show well,” Coupeville coach Randy King said.

Every single starting senior contributed in the first quarter, with four of the five scoring in the opening period.

With 52 seconds remaining in the first, senior Brad Sherman drove into the lane, sinking a right-handed runner and drew a foul in the process. After completing the three-point play, the Wolves built their largest lead of the game, 23-14 over the hungry Wildcats.

An offensive let-down in the second quarter allowed Archbishop Murphy to work their way back into the contest as they outscored the Wolves 16-9, putting them behind by only one at the half.

From halftime on it was anybody’s game.

Up to the 7:30 mark in the fourth quarter the teams battled back and forth for nine lead changes and four ties in the second half, until the Wildcats slowly began to inch away in the fourth quarter.

Down by as many as seven points with six minutes remaining, the Wolves refused to give in. Senior Casey Clark penetrated on an amazing drive from the left baseline through two defenders, pushing the shot up and in, receiving a foul on the play. After a made free throw, the Wolves were only down 63-61 with 1:51 left. That was as close as they would get, however as they missed on ensuing trips down the court and were forced to foul the Wildcats in order to gain back possession.

“We hurried a couple of times and missed a couple of times down the floor,” King said.

Archbishop Murphy was successful on nine of 14 free throw attempts in the quarter, helping them pull away.

All six seniors scored in their final game, led by Sherman with 27 points. He also had six three pointers for the game.

“That’s the most anyone had for us this year,” King said. “We needed everyone and a couple of more.”

Senior Brian Fakkema ended the game with 12 points, while Clark had 11. Other seniors who scored were James Jorgenson with five, Scott Fisher with two and Daniel McDonald with two.

“All the senior kids had a pretty good game,” King said. “They were a fun group, they played hard and you couldn’t ask for much more.”

Sherman and Clark also received all-league honors. Sherman was named first-team guard, while Clark was named to the second team as a guard.

Also of note, the Coupeville junior varsity team completed a perfect 10-0 season in league with their win Friday night.

Coupeville— 24 9 15 16—64

Archbishop—16 16 15 20—70

Scoring—CV: Sherman 27, Fakkema 12, Clark 11, Jorgenson 5, Rojas 4, Fisher 2, McDonal 2, Bagby 1.

AM: Jensen 15, Butler 14, Hagel 13, Mitchell 10, Taylor 9, Ungs 5, Terhar 3.

Records: Coupeville 3-7 league, 5-15 overall; Archbishop Murphy 6-4 league, 8-10 overall.