Mule boys slip by Pe Ell, fall to Toutle Lake

Last Wednesday night’s game against the Pe Ell Trojans was one that Coach Bill Olsen and his staff hope was just a fluke, a one-time occurrence resulting from the absence of senior and leading scorer Wyatt Parker (out - coach’s decision).

Despite pulling out a 60-46 victory over the Trojans, the Mules turned in their worst performance of the 2011/2012 season with 19 turnovers, most unforced. The Mules’ inside game pulled off one of its best performances of the year, however, with Brett Chaput netting a season-high 19 points and Yannik Kruetter adding 11. Chaput and Kruetter also combined to grab 17 rebounds, one fewer than Pe Ell’s team total of 18. Chris Bilgic ended up turning in a nice all-around performance with 12 points, seven rebounds, five assists, and four steals, but his game was blemished by turnovers. John Chambers tossed in 10 points and handed out six assists in a rather quiet fashion with only six shots attempted.

The Mules’ woes continued into the first half of their matchup with Toutle Lake on Friday as they managed to build up a 17-10 first quarter lead only to lose it with a dreadful second quarter in which they were outscored 27-10 by the Ducks.

The second half was a pretty even affair, won by the Mules 26-24, but unfortunately it wasn’t enough to overcome the 10-point halftime deficit as the Mules fell 61-53.

Parker returned to the lineup with team-highs of 18 points on 7 of 13 shooting and eight rebounds. Lars Blix hit three 3-pointers to account for nine points to go with five rebounds. Chaput and Chambers added eight apiece and Chambers also dished out eight assists and grabbed six boards.

Tuesday night’s game at Winlock was canceled due to snow with a makeup date to be determined. The 10-3 (5-2) Mules host the Adna Pirates tomorrow night, weather permitting.

The Mules’ junior varsity team picked up a pair of victories, 59-44 over Pe Ell and 47-45 at Toutle. Travis Wegdahl led the Mules against the Trojans with 16 points, with Steven Doumit adding 13 and Collan Riley 10. Austin Good and Seth Doumit added eight points and five assists apiece. Steven Doumit collected 10 rebounds to round out a double-double effort. In the win over the Ducks, Shane Souvenir and Wegdahl combined for 33 of the Mules’ 47 points with 17 and 16, respectively. Good added five, Steven Doumit four, Seth Doumit three, and Mitchel Dault two. Souvenir also grabbed nine boards to lead the team.

The C-squad went 2-1 in the past week with blowout wins over Astoria (60-25) and Pe Ell (31-11, Half) before losing to Toutle Lake (21-19, Half). Dault led the charge against the Fishermen with 15 points while Good tossed in 14. Steven Doumit added nine more with Zach Calvert, Collan and Connar Riley adding six apiece.

In the rout of Pe Ell, Brandon Budd netted 13 points and Collan Riley 10. Bradley Peek added three, Calvert and Connar Riley two each, and Colton Pfenniger one. Peek led the way against Toutle with nine points while Brady LaBerge picked up five, Budd three, and Calvert two.