February 19, 2018 at 12:38 p.m.
Hodag hoops locks down GNC, No. 1 seed with win over Antigo
Hodag hoops locks down GNC, No. 1 seed with win over Antigo
The Hodags were dominant defensively and used a big first half run to cruise past Antigo 56-36 at Sheldon Fieldhouse.
It turned out the Hodags already had the outright GNC title locked up by the time they took the floor, thanks to Lakeland's 72-54 win over Mosinee earlier Friday evening. Even so, the win was the final piece of the tournament resume for the Hodags who, on Sunday, earned the No. 1 seed in the sectional and will host a home playoff game on March 2.
Rhinelander took control with an 11-0 run midway through the first half as Antigo was mired in a 6- minute, 49-second field goal drought. The Hodags used another 13-2 spurt to close out the half with a 35-13 lead and cruised in the second.
"I thought in the first half, both offensively and defensively, that's about as well as we've played," Hodag coach Derek Lemmens said.
Brad Comer made all four of his 3-point attempts in the first half and finished with 17 points. Owen White scored a game-high 19 for the Hodags, doing most of his work in the paint, and all eight players in Rhinelander's rotation got in the scorebook.
"I thought those two made some really big shots," Lemmens said. "Guys moved the ball around. I think every guy that went on the floor found the bottom of the hoop at some point in the first half. That means everyone's moving with purpose and the ball's moving well."
Rhinelander forced 18 Antigo turnovers had held the Robins to only 33 field goal attempts. In the first half, the Hodags made as many field goals as Antigo attempted (12).
"I thought guys worked hard defensively," Lemmens said. "Our communication was really good. Guys were in spots, they were in spots early and they were finishing the play. They weren't giving second chances. I think that was big. We never let them get a good rhythm."
Hunter Bolson led Antigo with 11 points.
Rhinelander led by as many as 24 in the second half as they kept the Red Robins at arm's length.
The second half was marked by a scary incident with 9:26 remaining as Antigo's AJ Kirsch, trying to defend a Brock Lieder move in the post, flipped up and over Lieder, landing head first on the floor.
Kirsch stayed on the ground for roughly 15 minutes as trainers and EMTs attended to him. He was later transported from the contest site. Kirsch gave the fans an encouraging sign, however, as he stood up before being put on the stretcher.
"You're very concerned for a young player when something like that happens," Lemmens said. "It's just awful and it's a very uncomfortable situation to be in. You're just hoping that he's going to be all right."
The win moved Rhinelander to 19-2 overall, 11-0 in the GNC and, more importantly 11-1 against sectional opponents. That was enough to earn the No. 1 seed and a home game against the winner of the Medford-Shawano regional quarterfinal game that will take place Feb. 27.
While the Hodags have secured home-court advantage throughout the regional round, Lemmens said his team will have to be ready because there will be no easy outs in the tournament.
"It doesn't really matter where you land. All of these teams, I think it's the most even an entire sectional has been in my years coaching," he said. "Despite your seed, there's going to be a tough road."
The Hodags close out the regular season at home on Thursday against Mosinee with a chance to close out GNC play undefeated.
"That's our next goal," Lemmens said. "They've got the conference championship, but we haven't gone undefeated in conference in four years and we'd like to be back there."
Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].
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