The Pe Ell boys basketball team suffered its first league loss of the season on Thursday, falling at home against Wahkiakum 60-52.
The Mules got off to a fast start, scoring 23 points in the first quarter, and the Trojans quickly found themselves down double-digits.
“We knew they would shoot at will, we knew they would run their offense all out and we knew they are an extremely physical team,” Pe Ell assistant coach Jason Phelps said. “Even preparing for it, it got to us early in the game.”
The Trojans were outscored in the second as well, and they entered the locker room at half down 15.
Phelps said that in the second half, the coaches challenged the Trojans to match Wahkiakum’s physicality and intensity.
They did that, outsourcing Wahkiakum 16-8 in the third and entering the fourth down just seven.
Pe Ell got as close as four midway through the final frame, but the Mules were able to knock down a couple of key shots to ice the game and leave with the win.
“It’s tough to celebrate a loss,” Phelps said. “But we are proud of the way the boys responded in the second half. It’s one of those pivotal points in a season and we hope we can build off of the mentality and physicality we had in the second half”.
Blake Nelson led Pe Ell scorers with 21 points, while Wyatt Harris added 10. Blaine Howard scored six, and both Eli Mason and Liam McGrath tallied five.
Pe Ell (5-4, 1-1 1B CVL) will head to Columbia Adventist on Tuesday.
