Mule boys beat Tigers, Trojans

The Mules moved to 3-0 on the young season with home victories over a pair of league foes in the past week, outlasting the Napavine Tigers 49-37 last Thursday and pummeling the Pe Ell Trojans 75-38 on Tuesday.

The Mules got off to a slow start against the Trojans Tuesday night, failing to convert on numerous open looks, but still managed to take a 26-17 advantage into the break. The second half was an entirely different story. Behind the strength of a 25-5 dominating effort in the third quarter, the Mules outscored the Trojans 49-21 in the second half, with much of the Trojan scoring coming well after the game had been decided. While the Mules shot much better in the second half, converting on 53 percent of their attempts in the second opposed to just 22 percent in the first, it was the defense forcing turnovers (28 total) and aggressiveness on the boards that sparked the offense. The Mules’ hustle resulted in their outrebounding the Trojans 46-32 for the game, but the big difference was the 25-11 second half margin after both teams collected 21 boards in the first half.

Austin Good led a balanced Mules scoring attack, tallying 14 of his game high 17 points in the second half. Lars Blix picked up a steady 13 points and 13 rebounds despite not connecting from beyond the arc. Travis Wegdahl added another nine points, Dallas Peacock eight, Seth Doumit seven, Peter Weiler and Steven Doumit six apiece, Eli McElroy five, and Shane Souvenir three. Weiler and Souvenir each dished out five assists and McElroy grabbed 10 rebounds.

Last Thursday night, the Mules did the near opposite as they did against the Trojans, sprinting out to an early 23-11 lead after one quarter over the visiting Tigers before settling in and finishing step for step with the Tigers over the next three quarters. Blix notched another double-double with 15 points and 13 rebounds, giving him a double-double in all three games so far this season. Wegdahl netted nine points with Weiler and Souvenir chipping in eight apiece. McElroy added four points to go with seven rebounds and six blocks, Peacock and Steven Doumit scored two apiece, and Good one. Souvenir corralled eight boards while Blix handed out six assists and nabbed six steals.

The Mules hit the road today (Thursday) to face Morton-White Pass before returning home next Tuesday (18th) to host the Onalaska Loggers.

The Mules junior varsity squad notched a pair of victories as well, topping Napavine 49-40 and breezing by Pe Ell 53-35. Brady LaBerge paced the Mules against the Tigers with 15 points. Brandon Budd tallied 11, Gunner Blix eight, Mitchel Dault seven, Joey Moore six, and Thorben Huber two. Huber also grabbed nine rebounds and nine steals while Dault recorded eight boards and Blix five. LaBerge dished out six assists and Moore handed out four.

Budd led the way Tuesday against the Trojans with 13 points, followed by Dault with 10 and LaBerge nine. Huber and Blix added five apiece, Jenton Zeng four, Moore three, and Zach Calvert two. LaBerge handed out nine assists while Dault grabbed six rebounds and Budd five. Huber and Dault also recorded three blocks apiece.