Mule boys claim KM, beat Vikes, Chinooks

The Mules defense played long and hard enough on Tuesday night to keep the team in the game until the offense decided to come out of its shell in the second half of a 66-49 victory over the visiting Kalama Chinooks.

The Mules forced the Chinooks into 18 turnovers as they came away with 15 steals, six of those from sophomore Chris Bilgic. The Mule offense struggled to get going in the first half as they trailed 27-24 going into the break but came out from the half and posted a 23-point third quarter, capped off by a buzzer-beating three-pointer from Wyatt Parker.

Three minutes into the fourth the Mules extended a four point lead to 19 as they cruised the rest of the way to move to 6-1 on the year.

Parker led all scorers with 24 points, 16 of which came in the second half. John Chambers nailed three 3-pointers on his way to 15 points while Bilgic added eight, Yannik Kruetter seven, Brett Chaput six, Lars Blix four, and Peter Weiler two. Kruetter pulled in a team high seven rebounds and Chaput grabbed six while Chambers dished out a season-high seven assists.

The Mules completed the season sweep of the Naselle Comets with a 50-44 victory at Naselle last Thursday night.

It was a rough night shooting for the Mules as they went 0 for 12 from beyond the arc and hit just 16 of 33 attempts from the free throw line, a meager 48 percent.

Blix led a balanced Mules scoring attack with 10 points on 3/8 shooting from the field and 4/5 from the line. Parker added nine more, Chaput eight, and seven apiece from Bilgic, Chambers and Weiler. Chaput pulled in 11 rebounds; Blix recorded three blocks, and each picked up three steals.

The Mules went on the road last Wednesday and came out of Mossyrock with a narrow two-point victory. The Mules took a comfortable 38-29 lead into the fourth quarter and despite hitting on only two of 18 3-point tries and five of 10 from the line, managed to hold off the Vikings’ 22-point fourth quarter surge to move to 2-1 in Central League play.

Blix had a big game with 16 points and 12 boards (eight offensive rebounds) to lead the Mules. Chambers and Chaput each contributed eight points while Parker and Weiler each added six. Chaput also grabbed eight rebounds and Chambers nabbed five steals.

The Mules head off to the east side of the state this week to play at the Dayton Christmas Tourney (29th/30th) before coming home to host the Napavine Tigers on January 4th.

The Wahkiakum junior varsity squad, led by Shane Souvenir’s 16 points and eight rebounds, picked up a 51-43 victory over the Chinooks Tuesday night. Seth Doumit added 11 and Mitchel Dault seven for the Mules and Travis Wegdahl chipped in six points and nine rebounds.

The Mule JV’s fell short against the Vikings after being outscored 18-7 in the final frame of a 54-49 defeat Wednesday night. Dault paved the way with 11 points with Souvenir adding nine, Seth Doumit and Wegdahl seven apiece and Steven Doumit six. In his first action of the year coming off a foot injury, Austin Good scored eight points and netted two of the four Mules three-pointers.

The following night, the Mules handed the Comets a 21-point loss on their home court with a 53-32 victory. Collan Riley and Steven Doumit each scored 11 points to lead the Mules with Good adding seven, Souvenir six, Wegdahl and Seth Doumit five apiece, Bradley Peek and Brandon Budd each with three, and Brady LaBerge two. Wegdahl grabbed eight rebounds and Souvenir seven, while LaBerge dished out five assists and picked up four steals.

In two quarters of action Wednesday night, the Mule C-squad team gave the Vikings a 29-5 pounding led by LaBerge, Budd and Zach Calvert, each with six points. Peek added a three-pointer with Riley and Sonvir Mann picking up two apiece. Jamey Gehrman also contributed nicely as he ripped down eight rebounds in just two quarters of play.