“>Having already installed a new offense, a new attitude and hoping to benefit from a new classification, first-year South Whidbey boys basketball coach Brian Kissinger didn’t stop there for the Falcons’ season opener at home Friday against Coupeville. He not only moved the school band from one end of the bleachers to the other, he also started a new tradition of having the South Whidbey fans remain standing after the opening tip off until the Wolves scored.In the end, however, none of it seemed to matter much to the Class 1A Wolves as they disposed of the 2A Falcons 73-59 in the non-conference game between island rivals.But beneath the surface of what looked like just more of the same – not enough offense and too little defense that produced just three wins total in the last two years at the 3A level – there lurked the hope of better things to come.“I was disappointed but not discouraged,” said Kissinger. “It was pretty typical for a first game. They are still learning a new system and it’s not instinctive for them to go to the right spots. Probably the most pleasing thing to me was that we played hard all night. A lot of teams would have rolled over when they got behind by 20 points.” Apart from a second-quarter blitz when they were outscored 15-2 to fall behind 29-14, the Falcons actually outscored the Wolves 45-44 the rest of the way, led by senior Brian Moote’s 19 points. The 6-foot-3 Moote, who connected on only 7-of-19 field goals, didn’t quite provide an answer to the Wolves’ Patrick Bennett, who led all scorers with 22 points. Bennett, a 6-4 junior, brought the small but boisterous Coupeville contingent to its feet when he swiped the ball at midcourt with 2:30 remaining and punctuated his theft with a dunk. A dunk that elicited moans from the South Whidbey adult faithful but drew oohs and aahs from the future Falcons in attendance“I was surprised at how well Coupeville played,” Kissinger said. “But they are an established program and well coached. We have a ways to go but I know we’ll get there.”Moote, who also topped all Falcon rebounders with eight, wasn’t the only one struggling to hit his shots, as South Whidbey connected on a chilly 38 percent from the field (22-for-58) and just 52 percent from the free throw line (11-of-21).Senior guard Lai Saephan also reached double figures, shaking off a 1-for-5 first half performance to finish with 16 points on 6-for-14 shooting, including four three-pointers. Daniel Levine and Charlie Sarkis added seven points each with Sarkis producing perhaps the shot of the night by tossing in a half court trey at the final buzzer.The Falcons traveled to Bellevue Christian last night for another non-conference game before taking to the road again Friday to face last year’s 1A state champion Lynden Christian, which has since moved up to the 2A ranks, in the conference opener. They then return home Saturday to host Sultan.”