Muskego boys hoops suffered through close losses

Muskego - Although the Muskego boys basketball team ended up only 6-17 for the 2012-13 season, that record could have easily been much better.

The Warriors lost 10 games by 10 points or fewer, including a 58-49 decision to state-bound Mukwonago, a 79-77 double-overtime game against Catholic Memorial and a 58-53 defeat at the hands of Burlington in WIAA Division 1 regional play.

"We lost some games we probably should have won," head coach Andy Capes said.

Muskego started the season 1-8 before winning five of six at the midway point, including both games in the New Berlin Holiday Tournament. The Warriors then closed the year on an eight-game losing streak.

During that slide, Muskego lost senior point guard Josh Breider to injury, which hurt on both offense and defense.

"Josh was our most important player," Capes said. "He ran the offense and was a lockdown defender and leader. When he was hurt, we really struggled to score points."

The Warriors' top scorer was junior forward Turner Kehoe at 17.1 points per game, and he also paced the team in rebounds with 96.

"Turner is a very talented scorer," Capes said, "and he does it even with teams doing everything they can to stop him."

Breider tallied 10.1 points per contest as well as leading the squad in assists (62) and steals (49).

After those two, however, the next leading scorer was senior forward Steve Cotton at 4.3 per game, so the Warriors had trouble finding other sources of offense.

Muskego loses seniors Cotton, Breider, Sam Pedersen, Jake Van Fleet and Jordan Kvasnicka, but Kehoe will return next season as the Warriors try to find a way to pull out the close games.