Mule boys bag Ducks, lose to Vikes

The Wahkiakum Mule boys basketball team capped their snow-shortened regular season Monday night with a convincing 54-39 win over the Toutle Lake Ducks on Senior Night in Cathlamet.

The Mules and Ducks traded buckets back and forth in the opening few minutes. After taking a 20-13 lead after the first quarter and a 29-24 lead into halftime, the Mules came out with cranked up intensity and dominated the Ducks in a 16-3 third quarter to put the game away.

Shane Souvenir led the Mules at both ends of the floor, narrowly missing a triple-double as he compiled a stat line of 29 points, 16 rebounds and seven blocks. Seth Doumit added another 10 points and six assists, Gunner Blix and Travis Wegdahl chipped in five points apiece, Austin Good three and Zach Calvert two.

Brandon Budd collected eight rebounds to go with three assists and Good grabbed five rebounds and dished eight assists.

While the win had no impact on district seeding for the Mules, it did give them tremendous momentum as they look to hit their stride and make a run at returning to the state tournament.

The Mules open up district play Thursday (tonight) at 6:30 p.m. in Montesano against the Pacific League’s third-seeded Ocosta Wildcats.

Last Wednesday night, the Mules nearly took down rival Mossyrock on the road in a Central 2B League matchup but ultimately came up short against the Vikings, falling 55-52.

The Mules trailed 29-16 at the half but charged back to take a 45-40 lead halfway through the fourth quarter. However, they couldn’t hold on down the stretch as the Vikings went on a 15-7 run in the closing minutes.

Doumit had an outstanding night shooting the ball, hitting 5 of 6 three point attempts as part of his team-high 19. Budd contributed 12 points, Souvenir 11, and Wegdahl 10. Souvenir raked in 10 rebounds and had a season-high eight blocks while Good grabbed another six boards, Wegdahl handed out five assists and Doumit nabbed four steals.