Tanguay and cash

Posted: Jan. 17, 2012

If you watched the first nine minutes last Friday night, things certainly did not look good for the Mukwonago varsity boys basketball team.

The never-say-die Indians missed their first seven shots of the game, committed seven turnovers and trailed host Arrowhead by a lopsided 19-4 score. It looked like it might be a disappointing night for the visitors.

But in the final 65 seconds of the first half, things started to change. That's when Mukwonago started an impressive 42-26 run through the remainder of the game and stunned the Warhawks, 58-56, in their Classic 8 Conference showdown that completed the first round of play in the league.

A twisting layup by 6-foot-4 junior forward Nate Tanguay with 1.9 seconds remaining in the game put the winning points on the board for Mukwonago. Arrowhead tried a full-court length pass with 1.6 seconds left to play and got an off-balance shot off just before the buzzer from the deep left corner, but the shot came up short and the Indians had their biggest win of the season.

"We got off to a tough start, but the guys never quit working hard," said Mukwonago coach Jim Haasser. "That's the kind of team we have this year. This is a blue-collar group that comes to practice and comes to the games ready to play. This is a big one for us. To win this game the way we started, it's a credit to the kids to hang in there like that and beat a very good basketball team."

The victory was the fourth in a row for the Indians and fifth in their last six. They moved to 8-4 overall and 5-2 in conference play.

With seven conference games remaining, Mukwonago is very much alive in the battle for the 2012 championship. Milwaukee Pius leads the league with a 6-1 slate - with its only loss to MHS - and Arrowhead and Mukwonago are next at 5-2.

"We've now defeated both Pius and Arrowhead, so we're moving in the right direction," Haasser said. "But the competition is tough in this league every night. We have to keep working hard and the guys will do that. But we feel good how the guys are playing."

After high-scoring Arrowhead junior guard Kenny Finco made two free throws with 1:42 remaining in the first half, the Warhawks had a seemingly comfortable 30-16 lead. Those two free throws gave Finco 18 points in the opening two periods.

However, it suddenly became Tanguay Time for the Indians. A 14-3 run by Mukwonago in the final 65 seconds of the first half and into the first 4:20 of the third period cut that deficit to 33-30. Tanguay, who finished the night with 25 points, led the Mukwonago surge by firing in 18 points during the comeback.

Tanguay had plenty of help in the second half. Juniors Aaron Nixon and Nick Blohm had 7 points each down the stretch, and junior A.J. Bricco and sophomore Dominic Cizauskas also scored for the winners. Mukwonago outscored Arrowhead 26-17 in the fourth quarter, making an impressive 8 of 9 shots from the field and 9 of 13 free throws.

"There's no doubt we made some big plays in the fourth quarter," Haasser said. "We got the ball inside, but we also got some big stops on defense. This was a big win for us. The guys feel pretty good right now."

Mukwonago got its first lead of the game with 2:53 to play when Tanguay made one foul shot, and Nixon hit a basket to put the Indians up, 51-49. The score was tied twice after that.

The game-winning play began when the Indians inbounded the ball in the backcourt with 11 seconds to play. Eventually they got the ball into Tanguay's hands in the lane, and he made a quick move around an AHS defender and banked in the layup with 1.9 seconds to play.

Mukwonago trailed 17-4 after the first period, 30-19 at halftime and 39-32 going into the final period.

The Indians shot 47.5 percent for the night from the field, making 19 of 40 shots. They made 17 of 25 foul shots.

Nixon was solid from the start, scoring 15 points for the winners. Blohm was next with 7 tallies.

Box Score

Mukwonago 58, Arrowhead 56