SILVERDALE — The Eagles got it done at both ends of the court on Jan. 16 against Coupeville, and came away with a 51-37 victory over their Olympic League rival.

Led by John Hartford’s game-high 18 points and the terrific rebounding of brothers Landon and Garrett Betzing, Klahowya jumped into sole possession of second place with five league games remaining. The top two teams from the 1A Olympic League will get a berth in the district tournament.

“We played hard and we did what we had to do to win,” Hartford said. “We came out and took it to them.”

The Eagles were in control from start to finish. The offense was efficient in creating open looks underneath the basket, and the team shot well from the outside. Lucas Becker in particular had a good first quarter, scoring six of his team’s 14 points.

Klahowya started to pull away in the second quarter, after Becker scored off a nifty behind-the-back feed by Gabriel Smith. Smith followed that up with a 3-pointer from the wing on the next possession, and Hartford made it three scores in a row with a layup off a pass by Nicholas Lewis. The team carried a ten-point lead into the halftime break.

“We’re looking to move the ball and get those open shots,” Klahowya head coach Brian Thoemke said. “When we do that, we get good shots, and we did that most of the game.”

Meanwhile, the defense was strong — Klahowya held the Wolves to just 13 points in the first half and 20 through three quarters.

Coupeville was able to get some open looks but shot poorly from the floor. Despite a fair volume of shots by the Wolves, the Eagles made sure their opponent would get few second chances. The Betzing brothers, both 6 feet 2 inch forwards, combined for more than 20 rebounds as they dominated the defensive glass.

“They really crashed the boards hard,” Thoemke said.

Coupeville occasionally threatened to close the gap in the fourth quarter, but Klahowya was able to quickly defuse any momentum. After Coupeville sophomore Mason Grove hit the front end of a one-and-one, consecutive layups by Kraft, Lewis and Hartford gave the Eagles a 19-point lead with just a couple of minutes remaining.

Klahowya will square off with Coupeville twice more this season — on Jan. 20 and Feb. 1. The Eagles also have league games remaining with first-place Port Townsend and winless Chimacum. The team is entering a critical stretch, in which it must now defend its second place standing.

“We’re coming together, we’re playing with more confidence,” Thoemke said. “The kids come out and play hard all the time, they really get after it. That’s neat to see.”

Klahowya 51, Coupevill 37

Coupeville 9 4 7 17 — 37

Klahowya 14 9 11 17 — 51

Coupeville (37) — Smith 12, Spark 8, Grove 7, Lippo 7, Toomey-Stout 3.

Klahowya (51) — Hartford 18, Becker 10, L. Betzing 6, Coots 6, Smith 6, Kraft 3, Lewis 2.

— Mark Krulish is a reporter for Kitsap News Group. He can be reached at mkrulish@soundpublishing.com.