Mules pound Liberty Bell, head to state

For those fans that made the nine hour roundtrip journey to Sunnyside this past Saturday to watch the Wahkiakum Mules take on the Liberty Bell Mountain Lions in a loser-out, winner-to-state regional game, they were rewarded with a 63-36 Mule thrashing of the Mountain Lions in a relatively short-lived game.

In a game that lasted less than an hour’s time, the Mules exerted their dominance over their North Central Washington adversaries, jumping out to a 19-8 first quarter lead en route to the 63-36 victory.

Comparable to how the Mules finished out their four game district stretch run, their 3-2 zone defense stifled their opponent, not allowing Liberty Bell to crack double-digits in a quarter until the fourth, well after the outcome had been decided.

Meanwhile, the Mules had little trouble finding success on the offensive end, converting 19 of 36 two-point attempts, 7 of 20 three-pointers, and four of four from the line.

Much of the offensive success was due to the unselfishness of the Mules, amassing 22 assists on 26 made field goals, led by Peter Weiler and Shane Souvenir, nine and five, respectively.

Leading the scoring was Lars Blix with 19, with Souvenir and Eli McElroy each tallying 13 points. Weiler contributed eight more, Seth Doumit six, and two each from Dallas Peacock and Steven Doumit.

Despite the large margin of victory, the Mules held only a narrow advantage on the glass, 24-18, led by Blix with six rebounds and McElroy with five.

With the win the Mules advance to the state finals this weekend at the Spokane Arena. The Mules will take on Central League surprise Winlock in the tournament’s opening game at 9 a.m. Thursday morning, with the winner advancing to the semi-finals to play the winner of LaConner/Colfax and the loser moving to the consolation bracket.

The Mules are 2-2 against the Cardinals this year, winning their first matchup of the season at Winlock 63-58, dropping the next two 54-41 (at home) and 57-52 (districts), and winning the most recent battle 58-52 (also districts).