The Mount Baker Wild senior boys basketball team didn’t let a nightmarish start get in the way of victory last week in Calgary.

They opened the Bishop Grandin Invitational against Red Deer’s Lindsay Thurber Raiders, handing their opponents a 17-0 lead.

Putting the first 7:24 out of mind, the Wild clawed back for a 75-72 victory.

After getting eight points in the opening quarter, they scored 26 points in each of the next two and limited the Raiders to nine in the third.

Wild guard Brady Atwood, who would finish as the tournament’s top scorer, had 26 points against Lindsay Thurber. Both he and Rory Priore came down with 13 rebounds.

The second game pitted the Wild against the Medicine Hat Mohawks.

After playing to an 18-18 draw after one quarter, the Mohawks built a 10-point lead by the half and took a 76-57 win.

Atwood had 21 points, and Quinton Gates scored 16.

The Wild played Lethbridge’s Catholic Central for third place on Saturday afternoon. The Cougars took bronze, winning 60-43.

Atwood came away with 18 points and just as many rebounds. Eleven of those boards were in Catholic Central’s end; comparatively, the Cougars combined for nine offensive rebounds.

The Wild returned home to host the David Thompson (Invermere) Lakers on Tuesday night. Mount Baker won the exhibition 88-23. Every Wild player got at least 10 minutes of floor time and two points, with Atwood (15 points), Neil Dobie (13) and Gates (11) reaching double digits.

The boys are back in action at the Western Canada RIT in Calgary this weekend. The tournament wraps up on Saturday.