Mike Washington’s first game as the Falcon boys basketball head coach went about as well as he could have hoped for — a solid 74-47 thumping of the Coupeville Wolves.
It was a game that went to script for Washington, who previously coached the Oak Harbor Wildcats. Senior standout Parker Collins was near perfect, finishing with 30 points, and was actually perfect on 12-of-12 free throws. Freshman point guard Lewis Pope recorded 12 points and limited his turnovers. South Whidbey held a double digit lead by the halftime break that it never lost en route to a rivalry rout.
“To win by 25, whatever we did, you’d think I’d be a bit more happy,” Washington said. “But we can do better.”
Coupeville held its island rival in check on South Whidbey’s own court through the first quarter, trailing 14-13.
Pope opened the second quarter by following up a missed jumper with a rebound and a layup, his first points as a Falcon.
“Once that went in, it got me a little more confident,” Pope said.
Earlier in the game, Pope took an open three-pointer that rimmed out. Backpedaling on defense, Washington urged Pope on to take those shots.
“I was really happy for Lewis,” Washington said. “He told me before the game that he was nervous, and I told him, ‘Hey bro. I’m nervous too.’ ”
The Wolves took a lead on a layup by junior Wiley Hesselgrave, which was promptly extended on an Aaron Curtin three-pointer.
Trailing 24-19, the Falcons scrapped back into the game on baskets from junior Ricky Muzzy, who also got a steal that led to a reverse layup by Collins and a layup by senior Beau Blakey. Defensively, Blakey sparked the Falcons’ charge to take the lead on a block and steal that led to another Collins layup and the Falcons’ go-ahead score.
“Putting Beau Blakey in there turned the table a little bit because he’s feisty, he gets after it,” Washington said.
From there, South Whidbey closed out the first half on an 11-0 run for a 39-26 lead.
The Falcons’ mix of Collins’ shooting and near-the-basket spin moves, Pope’s passing and driving and Muzzy barreling into the paint for layups carried them the rest of the way.
Coupeville’s Curtin led the Wolves with 15 points, and no other Wolf reached double digits. Both Hesselgrave and senior Joel Walstad scored seven points.
Fouls plagued the Central Whidbey team. Three Wolves starters fouled out of the game — Hesselgrave, Walstad and senior Aaron Trumbull.
What was a bane for the Wolves was a boon for the Falcons. South Whidbey made 29 of its 37 free-throw attempts, including the perfect 12-for-12 by Collins. Muzzy hit 7-of-10, and Blakey made 5-of-7.
“[There’s] nothing better,” Muzzy said. “It felt awesome.”
