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

They took the long way through the loser’s bracket of the District IV 2B tournament, but the Wahkiakum Mules boys basketball team came home with a fourth place trophy and a ticket to regionals.

In the first of three games last week, the Mules beat Ocosta 58-47 on Wednesday in Castle Rock to extend their season and end it for the Wildcats.

“We got off to the good start, got a good lead, and were able to hold on the rest of the game,” Coach Todd Souvenir said. “Overall we had one heck of a game.”

Jake Leitz scored 19 points. Brody Carlson added 13. Brodie Avalon had 12 points. Logan LaBerge scored eight points. K.C. Beery had three points, Beau Rose had two, and Kyler Sause finished the game with 1.

Mules 18 7 14 19 —58

Ocosta 4 10 7 26 —47

On Friday, the team traveled to Rochester and beat Winlock, 58-50. The Mules were behind for the entire game, finally pulling ahead during the last minute for the win. It was also the first time the Mules were able to beat the Cardinals this season.

“We knew it was going to be a good match up,” Coach Souvenir said. “I knew we could guard them and have a chance in that game. It was nice to see them come out and play four quarters on both ends of the floor. The guys stayed positive, kept moving the ball, trusted each other, and we made some great buckets down the stretch.”

Leitz scored 20 points. LaBerge added 13. Avalon had 11 points. Carlson and Beery scored six points apiece. Ashden Niemeyer had two points.

Winlock 18 13 13 6 —50

Mules 13 15 10 20 —58

The next day, the Mules traveled to Chehalis to play Onalaska for third and fourth place in the district tournament. The Mules lost, 70-51, and finished in fourth place.

“They are a tough match up for us, and they are playing really well right now,” Coach Souvenir said. “They’ve always been a good physical defensive team, but here in the last three weeks or so, offensively, they’ve really picked it up. I feel like at this point, they are the best team in our league. I thought the guys responded to it well. We did some good things and got to the rim, played through their contact a little bit. I was proud of the boys for not giving up. I thought we played till the very end, and we learned something from it.”

Avalon led Mule scorers with 16 points. Leitz added 14 points and 12 rebounds. Carlson had 10 points. LaBerge added nine points. Beery scored two points and had seven rebounds.

Onalaska 13 25 21 11 —70

Mules 13 13 17 8 —51

The Mules will play Kittitas in a regional game this Saturday at 4 p.m. at Mark Morris High School. It is a loser out game, with the winner heading to the State 2B tournament in Spokane, March 4-7.