Mules defeat Kalama, fall to Toutle Lake

The Wahkiakum Mules boys basketball team continues its winning ways despite a little hiccup last Wednesday, which they quickly shook off, turning around to beat the next team the following night.

Last Wednesday, the Toutle Lake Ducks upset the Mules 58-51.

"Toutle Lake has been playing really well," Coach Todd Souvenir said. "I thought the guys prepared really well defensively. We did a great job the first half. Obviously they prepared for us too."

The Mules got into foul trouble in the third quarter, and with Dominic Curl out for the season with an injury, they lost some physicality in the final half of the game. Toutle's Zach Swanson got hot in the third quarter, scoring all 22 of the Duck's points during those eight minutes, and finished the game with 38 points.

"They executed better than us when it got down to the last four minutes of the game," Souvenir said. "It was definitely a tough road loss."

Brodie Avalon scored 23 points for the Mules, shooting 10 for 11 at the free throw line. He also had 14 rebounds and five assists. Kyler Sause added 10 points. Jacob Johnson had six points and three assists and Titan Niemela added another six points. Zakk Carlson chipped in four points and four steals, and Tanner Collupy scored two points.

Mules 9 10 16 16 --51

Toutle 7 7 22 22 --58

The Mules beat Kalama 73-33 the following night at home.

"We challenged the guys with some different goals," Souvenir said. "We went into the game with a different mindset. I challenged them to play defensively with the same intensity as we would against Toutle Lake or Morton/White Pass."

"We got hot and comfortable offensively in the first quarter, and defensively we settled in," he added. "It was a fun game and everybody got a lot of playing time and did a lot of good things. We shot the ball really well and shared the ball really well for the most part. If we can consistently share the ball like that we will definitely be a tough out as we approach district."

Carlson led with 20 points and five steals. Avalon had 18 points and six rebounds. Niemela added 15 and seven rebounds. Sause had nine and five rebounds. Victor Carvalho scored four points. Johnson had three points and seven assists. Collupy and Sebastian Britt finished the game with two points apiece.

Kalama 15 8 3 7 --33

Mules 24 24 21 4 --73

The Mules face Morton/White Pass at home on Thursday (today).

District play begins on Saturday. Time, location, and opponents were not determined by the time this story went to press. Details will be posted on the Wahkiakum Eagle Sports Report on Facebook as soon as they are available.

The Mules were in third place in the Central 2B League as of Tuesday with a 9-3 record. The top five teams at district will move on to regional games on February 24-25, and the state tournament in Spokane begins on March 1.