Story Photos
 Photo Ingrid Linderman/The Spokesman Review Wahkiakum's Ty Briscoe pulls away from La Conner's Kyle Stamback on Wednesday |
Mules storm out of the gate, 70-44
Thursday, March 1, 2007 7:29 AM PST
By Dave Trimmer
Printable version
E-mail this articleSPOKANE ---- It took the veteran Wahkiakum boys basketball team 18 games to build up to its best game of the year.
It only took four more for the Mules to repeat it.
Second-ranked Wahkiakum rolled to a 70-44 win over La Conner Friday morning in the first-round of the State 2B boys basketball tournament, earning a date this afternoon against fourth-ranked Riverside Christian in the quarterfinals.
"We're real pleased," Wahkiakum coach Bill Olsen said. "It's been four games since we played Toutle Lake in the regular season. The four previous games were not up to our standards. This is how the Mules play."
The Mules (23-1) played extremely well against the Braves (18-6). They made an astounding 14-of-19 2-point baskets in the first half (74 percent) and finished the game at 58 percent, although 3-12 3-point shooting brought that down to 28-55 overall. They had 16 assists including eight from Travis Bain, and forced 23 turnovers, with 15 steals, while committing just seven.
Three players scored in double figures. Toby David scored 20 of his 22 points in the second half, with Ty Briscoe adding 15 and Romeo Savant 13.
The performance had Olsen looking back a couple weeks when Wahkaikum beat fifth-ranked Toutle 69-58, in the 19th game and won three more before losing to the Ducks 51-42 in the district title game.
"I just told them we got that out of the way," Olsen said. "The kids know it's time to do it. We're trying to make that a good loss but any loss is never good one. We had a shot at a perfect season and you don’t get that chance very often."
Bain, David and Savant were freshmen on the team that lost the 2004 title game to Republic, one of this year's contenders that could be a semifinal opponent. They were joined by four classmates as sophomores for a return trip and seventh-place finish.
Missing out last year apparently made them hungry.
"The nine seniors have been together forever," Olsen said. "They like family and they've really taken the other kids under their wing."
The chemistry show, and not just because of the good assist total.
With David, the best Wahakiakum point guard Olsen has ever seen, struggling in the first half, the Mules bolted to a 21-12 lead after the first quarter. Briscoe had eight points and Brenden Ferguson six. They used an 11-0 surge that carried into the second quarter to build a 30-12 lead.
The Braves answered with an 11-0 run that bridged halftime to close within 33-25, but then David heated up, scoring six points in an 11-2 run that basically decided the game well before the fourth quarter.
"They were leaving me pretty open, I was just missing all my shots," David said. "I felt like I missed 20 3's. My teammates did a good job of picking me up."
He was a little hard on himself. He ended up making 8-of-12 2-pointers, but just 2-8 from 3-point range.
"I drove more," he said. "I wasn't hitting my 3's so I had to do something."
Olsen began watching the Mules when he was 7, played for the Mules and has been coaching the Mules for 26 years, 12 as a head coach, so he knows his history.
"Toby did have a good floor game," he said. "He handles the ball well, the gets the ball to his teammates. He's the perfect point guard, the best at Wahkiakum I've ever seen."
David and his teammates will need another good game today. Riverside Christian rolled to a 59-40 win over Napavine and though the Crusaders don't have the experience of the Mules, they have the size to make it a battle.
Mules 70, Braves 44
LA CONNER (44) -- Lindeman 17, Kellerman 9, Thostenson 6, Stamback 4, Schwindler 3, Greathouse 0, G. McKnight 0, Kegel 2, Vander Lei 2, Brenton 1, Pierson 0, C. McKnight 0.
WAHKIAKUM (70) -- Briscoe 15, Ferguson 6, Tr. Bain 9, David 22, Savant 13, Rongey 0, McClain 3, Hamman 0, Olsen 0, Gerlach 2, Ty. Bain 0.
La Conner 12 8 13 11 -- 44
Wahkiakum 21 12 17 20 -- 70
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