Mules earn trip to regionals

The Wahkiakum Mule boys earned a trip to regionals this past weekend as they grinded the Pacific League’s #1 seeded Raymond Seagulls to a pulp, winning 82-53 Saturday night at Centralia High School.

The victory secured the Central League’s dominance over the Pacific League as the Central won eight of nine district matchups and claimed all four regional berths (a feat the Central League girls claimed as well).

The Mules came out of the gate slowly against the Seagulls, falling behind the Gulls 7-2 in the opening minutes before erupting on a 16-4 run to close out the first quarter with an 18-11 lead. From there on the Mules never looked back as they expanded on their lead every quarter, leading by 15 at the half and 26 after three.

Wyatt Parker led the offensive attack with 24 points while Lars Blix added 17 and John Chambers 13. Chambers also dished out nine assists to lead the Mules with Peter Weiler handing out six. Eli McElroy came off the bench to grab seven rebounds and pick up two blocks. Chambers and Parker also came away with nine of the Mules’ 10 steals as the Mules’ defense harassed the Seagulls into 17 turnovers.

The Mules landed in the loser-out contest with the Seagulls after coming up short in a semi-final thriller against the Adna Pirates two nights earlier, falling 50-46 in front of a packed house. The underdog Mules led the third-ranked Pirates nearly the entire game despite hitting just 22 percent of their three-point tries and converting only 8/16 from the free throw line.

The Mules led by one going into the fourth but gave up the lead for good midway through the quarter when Adna suddenly caught fire from behind the arc. With 20 seconds remaining on the clock and the Mules down three, Chambers let fly what looked like a game-tying three pointer from the right wing that was a mere half inch too long as it hit the back of the rim and bounced out into the hands of the Pirates.

With the Pirates fixated on shutting down the Mules’ leading scorer, holding Parker to just seven points on only six shot attempts, the Mules were forced to find scoring elsewhere. Stepping up to the challenge was Weiler, who after averaging less than four points per game during the regular season exploded for a season-high 18 points on eight of 10 shooting. Blix added 10 points with Chambers another eight. Parker and Brett Chaput led the Mules with six rebounds apiece.

Monday afternoon, the Mules faced off with the Mossyrock Vikings in a battle for third and fourth places to determine each team’s regional matchup.

Two days after emphatically running the Seagulls out of the gym, the Mules faced a bit of a setback against a Viking team they defeated twice during the regular season. Although the final score was a respectable 75-62, the Vikings dominated every facet of the game, leading by double-figures nearly the entire game and as much as 23 late in the second half.

Where the Mules really struggled was on the glass, as they were outrebounded 37-23, and in the half-court defense, where the generally fierce zone-trapping scheme was uncharacteristically sluggish for the majority of the game.

Parker led the way offensively with 26 points with Chambers and Blix adding nine apiece. McElroy grabbed eight boards to lead the team, with Weiler, Chaput and Yannik Kruetter collecting five apiece.

The Mules play the District 1/2 champions Bear Creek at 8 p.m. this Friday night in Mt. Vernon with a trip to Spokane on the line.