Benson’s play inspires Wahkiakum past Dragons

As Wahkiakum senior Kyle Benson stepped up to the free-throw line at the end of the first quarter, he thought he wasn’t going to make the shots.

Instead, he hit those two and two more later in the game with his left hand, energizing his team to make a comeback in a 51-47 victory over St. George’s in the first round of the State 2B boys tournament at the Arena.

Benson, who broke his wrist in December during an open gym, returned to his team with a cast on his right wrist but determined to do everything he could to help his team win. Benson finished the game with six points.

“I stayed with it the whole season,” said Benson. “I practiced with the team and started practicing left-handed free throws about two months ago. I got in the game, made the free throws, started yelling and it pumped up the team.”

After starting the game in a 10-1 hole and trailing by one at the end of the third quarter, the Mules used their tough defense to hold the Dragons without a field goal in the final 7 1/2 minutes of the fourth quarter.

Along with their tough defense, the Mules hit some keys shots and free throws. Sophomore Cody Olsen scored six of his team-high 16 in the final quarter and the Mules hit 6 for 8 from the line in the fourth.

“Cody hit some huge shots in the fourth,” said Wahkiakum coach Bill Olsen. “I’m very proud of our guys. It was a big win.”

St. George’s controlled most of the game, leading at the end of the first three quarters.

The Dragons were led by senior Henry Butler, who caught fire in the third quarter by scoring 11 of his game-high 17 points. It just wasn’t enough, however, as Butler went scoreless in the final quarter and his team scored only seven points in the fourth.

“They (Wahkiakum) played good defense,” said St. George’s coach Ryan Peplinski. “We made a heck of a lot of mistakes, too. You bet our team will be ready for tomorrow (though).”

Wahkiakum got great offensive production its starters, who combined to score 45 of the team’s 51 points. Of those five, three of them scored in double figures.

St. George’s outrebounded the Mules 34-27, including 19 offensive rebounds. But the Dragons couldn’t finish on their second-chance opportunities, with only nine points to show for it.

Wahkiakum had a huge advantage at the free-throw line as St. George’s committed its seventh team foul of the second half with 2:40 left in the third quarter. The Mules were in the double bonus the entire fourth quarter. The Mules outshot the Dragons by 15 at the stripe and outscored them by 14.

Besides Butler, the Dragons got significant contributions from sophomore Jordan Dickson, who scored eight points and had three rebounds, and senior Brennan Yetter, who added seven points and four rebounds.

Wahkiakum’s 2-1-2 defense combined with excellent free-throw shooting in the final quarter helped the Mules overcome a three-point deficit in the fourth for the win.

“We really mixed up our presses tonight,” Olsen said. “We didn’t start with them but finished with them and it really worked well.”

Wahkiakum will play Toutle Lake in the quarterfinals at 9 p.m. today. St. George’s will face Life Christian in an elimination game at 2 p.m. today.