Mules down Notre Dame on senior night

The Poplar Bluff Mules looked for a fresh start with another solid win, hoping to start a more positive streak.

And as a matter of fact, the Mules (8-11) captured their second consecutive win with a 65-47 win over Notre Dame Friday at the Poplar Bluff High School gym.

The game kicked off with a lot of energy, as no team was willing to give up the edge, but the Mules relied on aggressive defense to gain the upper hand.

The Mules clicked on all cylinders in the first quarter, going on a 14-3 run with Notre dame struggling to find a rhythm.

After not having a great shooting night in the previous game, the Mules responded by knocking down multiple jumpers from each side of the basket, keeping Notre Dame on their toes after every made shot.

Struggling to find a basket after a few trips down the floor, Notre Dame managed to get the last bucket before the half, hopefully turning the game around in their favor.

Much of the second half was dominated by the Mules forcing turnovers and capitalizing on the fastbreak with easy buckets.

Gavin Rivers led the Mules with 12 points, and with the way he started out scoring, it was only natural that his teammates would fall in line.

“This win felt really good,” Rivers said. “I felt like we had the right mindset going into this game. We played hard and together, and we put a little bit of pressure on them and just played good defense.”

“I just know when one person starts off with a lot of energy, we will all start that way, and it worked out for us.”

Darius Graham added eight points and Torrance Williams had seven.

The Mules left Notre Dame with no room to breathe with their smothering defense, and Poplar Bluff coach William Durden applauded them for the way they attacked.

“I felt like the last few games, we’ve really stepped up defensively, and we’ve been locked in a lot more,” Durden said. “We shot the ball very well, and that comes from playing hard on defense. I try to get my kids to understand that when you play harder on defense, you can shoot with a lot more confidence.