December 11, 2017 at 2:12 p.m.
How-ard about that?
Howard's career high 28 points leads Hodags past Lakeland 80-43
How-ard about that?
Reese Flores hit a game-winner against Wisconsin Rapids, Owen White already has three double-doubles and Brad Comer stepped up with a double-double of his own in a big win over Ashland last Tuesday.
Friday night was Junior Howard's turn in the spotlight. The Rhinelander junior point guard poured in a career-high 28 points and the Hodags routed Lakeland 80-43 in the Great Northern Conference opener at the Jim Miazga Community Gymnasium.
"I just felt hot tonight and I happened to be the guy that was open when the ball got to me," a nonchalant Howard said following a night where he was 11 of 15 from the field.
His demeanor matched his play. Howard made it look easy at times as he scored 17 points in the first half - making 7 of 8 shots at one point - as the Hodags took a 34-23 lead at the break. He poured in 11 more in the second and was one of three Hodags in double digits as Rhinelander earned its 13th straight win over its Highway 47 rivals.
"That's what gym time does. He's a gym rat. He's earned this time right here," Hodag coach Derek Lemmens said regarding Howard's performance. "He's one of those kids that has grown up in this program and you see him at everything working on his game. This is where it pays off, on the big stage he's able to have performances like this. It's exciting to see all that hard work paying off."
Comer added 17 points for Rhinelander and White finished with 16 points and eight rebounds.
Gunnar Weitz had 13 points for Lakeland and Santana Barnard had 12. Weitz hit an early 3 to put Lakeland up 5-2, but Howard answered with a triple of his own on the other end, then made a layup a short time later, and Rhinelander never trailed again.
Weitz and Barnard kept a depleted Lakeland team - with projected starters Connor Evenhouse and Michael Ouimette injured and on the bench - in the contest, scoring all 23 of Lakeland's first half points. Weitz hit a 3 over Comer at the buzzer to cut Rhinelander's lead to 11 at the break.
Howard continued his hot night with a 3 on the first possession of the second half and White got a finish off a steal as the Hodags went on a 29-7 run to open the second that made the team's 11th straight win over former Rhinelander head coach Rich Fortier a runaway.
"Lakeland's an injured team. That plays into our hands. They don't have a lot of depth right now, and that helps, but I thought the guys just played some really good basketball," Lemmens said.
While Lakeland shot 45 percent from the field (19 of 42), the T-Birds took 20 fewer shots than the Hodags thanks in part to 26 turnovers forced by Rhinelander's defense. After playing predominantly in a 2-3 zone to start the year, Lemmens threw a 1-3-1 trap at Lakeland at times with success.
"We feel like we have an athletic team, a deep team and we want to switch defenses," Lemmens said. "We hope this is a continuing trend and it's only going to continue more and more."
After handling all of the scoring in the first half, Weitz and Barnard were held to only two points in the second. Jonathan Jurries added nine points for Lakeland over the final 18 minutes.
The Hodags finished just over 48 percent from the field (30 of 62) and delighted the packed Miazga Gym with a couple of highlight plays in the second half. Howard was fouled as he made a midair putback on a Brock Lieder missed 3 and made the subsequent free throw to put Rhinelander ahead 44-27 with 14:06 left. Later White put down a two-handed slam dunk on a baseline drive, giving Rhinelander a 70-37 lead with 5:20 to play.
"These guys playing this way, it's good for us to watch and it brings excitement into our next practices," Lemmens said. "We just have to continue to stay hungry and know this is what we can do if we continue to play this way."
The Hodags will take a four-game winning streak to Northland Pines this Friday.
Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].
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