Coupeville’s boys basketball team opened league play by racing by rival South Whidbey 79-72 in Coupeville Friday.

The Falcons pressed and ran to set a fast-paced tempo, and the Wolves had little trouble handing the speed. Coupeville coach Randy King said, “We scored in bunches, then they would get theirs.”

King said he would have liked his club to have been more patient once it got the lead. The Wolves would see 10-point margins disappear after taking hurried shots and allowing the Falcons break opportunities.

South Whidbey cut a double-digit Coupeville margin to two in the third quarter but couldn’t overtake the Wolves.

Chad Brookhouse highlighted the high-scoring first quarter (27-23 Coupeville) with three 3-pointers. He finished the game with 19 points, 15 coming in the first half when the Wolves went into the locker room with a 42-35 lead.

King was pleased on how well his team “shared the ball.”

Jason Bagby added 18 points and 15 rebounds to the well-balanced Coupeville attack.

Tim Walstad (12) and JD Wilcox (11) also scored in double figures. Erik King finished with nine points, Hunter Hammer eight, and Ian Smith two.

Riley Newman scored 22 for South Whidbey, half of those coming from the foul line on 13 tries.

The Wolves have back-to-back home games next week as they finish up nonleague play. Coupeville hosts their other Whidbey neighbors, Oak Harbor, Monday at 7 p.m., then entertains Friday Harbor at 2:30 p.m. Tuesday.