Mule boys go 1 and 1 to start season

The Wahkiakum Mules boys basketball team split games this week, facing Forks at home last Wednesday and traveling to Vancouver on Monday to take on King's Way.

Last Wednesday, the Mules beat a visiting Forks team, 65-31.

"I thought we came out and played with good energy," Coach Todd Souvenir said. "You could tell we had some first game jitters. Everybody got some solid minutes to get the jitters out.

"Other than Brodie [Avalon], we are playing guys who have very little varsity time. The guys were really active on both ends on the floor, and I thought we did some really good things. Winning the first game is always a good way to get things started."

Avalon led the team with 26 points and eight rebounds. Braden Avalon had 12 points and six steals. Zakk Carlson scored seven points and had eight steals. Dominic Curl added six points. Jacob Johnson had five points and 10 assists. Nathan Garrett scored four points. Titan Niemela and Elijah Cothren added two points apiece, and Kyler Sause finished the game with one.

On Monday, the Mules lost to King's Way 58-43.

"It was a fun environment and a good competitive game early in the season," Coach Souvenir said. "They have a lot of shooting guards. We struggled early in our zone defense, but I was really pleased with the switch to man to man and how active the guys were.

"Offensively we struggled to get some good looks and get the ball in the hole. But overall, that game was a positive, mainly for how we competed from the beginning to the end, regardless of the scenario."

Brodie Avalon scored 23 points. Curl added eight points. Niemela and Sause had four points and five rebounds apiece. Johnson and Carlson scored two points each. Johnson also contributed to the offense with five assists.

The Mules host Stevenson Thursday (today) and travel to Willapa Valley on Friday and then to Adna on Monday.