The Wahkiakum County Eagle - Established as The Skamokawa Eagle in 1891

Story and photos

by Diana Zimmerman

There was a shift in the Wahkiakum Mule boys basketball play this week. A new determination has set in and it was in evidence with one win and two hard fought losses.

The Wahkiakum Mule boys basketball began to show a little fight in the second half of their game against a very physical Pe Ell team last Wednesday. The Mules came back from a big deficit, pulling within four points, but ultimately lost 52-71.

Brandon Budd was back to tricks with 26 points. He added six rebounds and three steals. Joey Moore had 16 points, four steals and one block. Zach Brown added seven points, two rebounds and two assists. Hank Ferguson scored three points, had five rebounds, two assists and two steals. Ryan Quigley pulled down nine boards and added one steal and one block. Cody Terpsma had two rebounds and one assist.

"I was really proud of our effort in the second half on both ends which gave us a chance to win," Coach Todd Souvenir said. "We just couldn't get a stop when we needed it in the fourth quarter. Pe Ell made some clutch threes to extend their lead. Foul trouble and the foul line hurt us as we were eight for 24 from the line. We must get better at rebounding on both ends to compete in this league."

On Friday, the Mules traveled to Winlock and won 65-48.

"It was pretty sloppy and there were a lot of fouls but we got a good lead," Souvenir said. "We matched up well size-wise and battled on the boards pretty good with them."

Budd continued his hot streak with 26 points. He had six rebounds, four assists and three steals. Brown had a double double with 12 points, 16 rebounds and one steal. Ferguson and Moore had nine points apiece. Ferguson had seven rebounds and three steals and Moore added one rebound and one steal. Quigley scored seven points and pulled down five rebounds and had one assist. Kael McKinley added one point and Terpsma had one rebound.

On Saturday, the boys matched up with Mossyrock in another very physical game at home and lost 69-79. The Mules challenged the lead more than once, only to fall behind again. One Viking was ejected after his second technical and another was called for a flagrant foul as Joey Moore left the floor with a bloody cut below his eye. After being evaluated, Moore returned to the game with a butterfly bandage. For comedy relief, the new mechanical flag unfurled during the game and interrupted play.

Both Budd and Brown finished the game with double doubles. Budd scored 23 points and pulled down 11 rebounds. He also had one assist and one steal. Brown scored 19 points and had 15 rebounds, four assists, three steals and one block. Ferguson had 13 points, seven rebounds and three assists. Moore added nine points, two rebounds, one assist and one steal. Quigley scored three points and had four rebounds and one assist. Terpsma added two points.

Diana Zimmerman

Joey Moore applies defensive pressure for the Mules.

"I thought it was our best game of the year hands down," Souvenir said. "We kept up for four quarters. It was nice to see the points spread out a bit and to help for Brandon offensively. Zach stepped up and had a good game. Hank did well and Joey did some good things. Cody played well for us today too when he stepped in for Brandon who had foul trouble. I was really impressed with the kids. They really worked their butts off.

"We've just been coming up a little short when we close in," he continued. "We shot better from the free throw line tonight and we worked pretty good on the boards. The big difference in the game was offensive rebounds and second chance points."

The boys traveled to Morton/White Pass yesterday (Wednesday) and will play Napavine at home on Friday. On Saturday, they travel with the Lady Mules to Onalaska for a double header. Their final home game is Wednesday against Toledo.