Mules dominate Dayton tourney, pound Comets

The Wahkiakum Mule boys basketball team stormed through their opponents in the annual Dayton Christmas tourney that also marked the return to action of senior shooting guard Seth Doumit.

The Mules opened the tournament with a 68-38 victory over the Elgin Huskies, a 2A school from Northeast Oregon, before routing the Lacrosse-Washtucna-Kahlotus Tigercats in the championship game, 88-49.

The Mules used a strong surge in the second and third quarters against Elgin to put the game out of reach, outscoring the Huskies 44-16 over that stretch. Brandon Budd paved the way for the Mules with a game-high 21 points while Shane Souvenir and Austin Good tallied 12.

In his first action of the year, Doumit netted double figures with 10 points and handed out seven assists. Joey Moore added another seven points and Hank Ferguson rounded out the scoring with six. Souvenir collected a team-high seven rebounds but missed recording a double-double for the first time this season.

In the championship game, the Mules were just too much for the Tigercats as they leapt out to a 31-8 lead after one quarter of play and never looked back en route to the win. Souvenir picked up his seventh double-double of the year as he torched the ‘Cats for 35 points and 10 boards. Budd had another solid game with 15 points while Good and Doumit added 14 and 12, respectively. Ferguson chipped in with five and Moore two. Doumit also reached double-double status as he dished out an impressive 16 assists. The Mules were without point guard Brady LaBerge (sick) and forward Travis Wegdahl (injury) for the tournament.

The Mules rang in 2014 with a bang as they travelled over the hill and took out longtime rival Naselle last Saturday, to the tune of a 75-41 shellacking in the battle for the KM Trophy. The Mules handled the Comets with relative ease, taking a 42-12 lead into the half. Souvenir logged yet another double-double with 24 points and 15 rebounds and Budd racked up another 23 points as the Mules had little trouble retaining the coveted gold ball. Moore contributed eight points, Wegdahl five, Ferguson and Good four apiece, LaBerge three, and two each from Doumit and Zach Calvert. Doumit and Souvenir each dished out seven assists as the team collectively handed out 26 assists in the win.