[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 145 (1999), Part 4] [Extensions of Remarks] [Pages 6084-6085] [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]SALUTE TO THE MOUNDS VIEW MUSTANGS ______ HON. BRUCE F. VENTO of minnesota in the house of representatives Thursday, March 25, 1999 Mr. VENTO. Mr. Speaker, Minnesota's Fourth Congressional District is distinctly blessed this year with the triumph of two high school men's basketball teams in the Minnesota State Basketball Tournament. I would especially like to congratulate and commend, the Mounds View Mustangs for their thrilling 69-64 victory over the reigning Minnetonka Mustangs in the Class AAAA Championship. Behind at the start of the final period, the Mustangs climbed into the lead with less than 8 minutes left and held on to win. My congratulations to the Mounds View High School, Coach Kauls and all the Mustangs. Their team spirit, never say die attitude is an example for us all. At this time I would like to share with my Colleagues an article describing the Mustang victory. [From the Star Tribune, Mar. 21, 1999] Mounds View Holds on: Horvath Scores 31 as Mustangs Top Last Year's 4A Champion, Minnetonka (By Brian Wicker) Mounds View senior center Nick Horvath started out fabulous and got better as the game progressed, scoring a game-high 31 points to lead the Mustangs over defending champion Minnetonka 69-64 Saturday night for the Class 4A boys' basketball championship before 13,682 fans at Williams Arena. The third-ranked Mustangs (24-3) trailed 50-49 entering the fourth quarter. After senior guard Cal Ecker hit a three- pointer with 7:43 remaining to give Mounds View a 52-50 lead, Horvath scored eight of the Mustangs' next 10 points. Mounds View led 65-62 with 45.3 second to play and held it when two three-point attempts by Minnetonka senior guard Brendan Finn missed. The Mustangs then made just enough free throws in the final minute to hold on. ``We always expect a lot of Nick [Horvath], and he produced again,'' Mounds View coach Ziggy Kauls said. ``But you don't win one of these things without more of a team.'' Mounds View's title was the school's second, to go with the 1972 Class AA championship. Kauls coached them both. Said Horvath, who will attend Duke: ``This is just great. This will go with my four national championships I'm going to win there.'' Minnetonka point guard Adam Boone nearly lifted the Skippers in the final period (26 points), making three clutch baskets in a two-minute span to keep the No. 2 Skippers (23- 4) close. The defending champions deflated somewhat, however, when star forward Shane Schilling fouled out with 1:07 to play. [[Page 6085]] Minnetonka's search for a second consecutive title began with looking for replacements for graduated four-year starters Ryan Keating and Jake Kuppe. Boone, a junior, filled Keating's void at point guard after his family moved from the Minneapolis Washburn area to Minnetonka. The Skippers' answer for Kuppe was already present in senior Grant Anderson, a 6-7 center with superb defensive skills and a quick first step. And, best of all, the Skippers still had the high-scoring, high-flying Schilling. Mounds View's state tournament only lasted one game a year ago, after the Mustangs lost 55-54 to Minneapolis North in the quarterfinals. Since that time, Horvath had been part of the gold-medal-winning 18-under team at the World Youth Games in Moscow last summer and become even more dominant a player. His experienced supporting cast, including Ecker and senior forward Drew Brodin, didn't hesitate to take important shots when Horvath found himself surrounded with defenders. With Division I talents such as Schilling and Horvath able to take over games, the teams did their best to get rid of the opposing star. The Skippers pounded the ball inside to Anderson on their first few possessions, trying to put Horvath in early foul trouble, and were eventually successful. Schilling, on the other hand, aggressively ran into foul problems on his own. Minnetonka led 14-12 after the first quarter, the difference being a T.J. Thedinga layup that Mounds View contended came after the buzzer. ____________________