January 22, 2018 at 12:38 p.m.
Guts and glory
Hodags rally from down 6 late to beat Mosinee, take two-game lead in GNC
Guts and glory
The Hodags outscored the Indians 11-2 over the final four minutes, defeating Mosinee 62-59 to move two games ahead of the pack in the conference standings at the midway point of the season.
Down by six late in the game, the Hodags showed why they have won 12 straight games and have the makeup of a team capable of making a deep WIAA tournament run.
"Things were not going our way, but late in the game guys were still ready to step up and make something happen," Hodag coach Derek Lemmens said. "That says a lot that they have of mental toughness."
The stat line wasn't pretty for the Hodags, who shot 41 percent from the field and a paltry 12 of 23 at the free throw stripe, but Rhinelander made the key plays down the stretch and held Mosinee to only one field goal over the final five minutes.
Rhinelander was mired in its own scoring drought when Seth Kuhn and Austin Freiboth hit 3s on back-to-back possessions to give Mosinee a 57-51 lead with 5:19 remaining. Neither team scored until an Owen White drive to the basket sparked a key 9-0 push for Rhinelander. Junior Howard hit a 3 to cut the lead to one and Brad Comer gave Rhinelander the lead on a triple with 2:28 to play.
"We needed that mojo and we didn't have it all night," said Comer, who added a free throw to put Rhinelander ahead 60-57 with 2:16 remaining. "It was a rough night shooting, but we finally started kind of clicking with four minutes left and it was good."
Sophomore Luke Spink, who led Mosinee with 19 points, made a driving layup with 40 seconds left to cut the lead to one, but fouled out seconds later trying to prevent a Howard drive to the basket. Howard missed both ensuing free throws but Brock Lieder raced in for the offensive rebound and put it in high off the glass to restore Rhinelander's three-point lead.
"They just weren't boxing out," said Lieder, who scored nine of his 10 points in the second half. "I wasn't counting on the miss. I wish he would have made it, but the two points gave us an extra cushion. We'll take it."
Mosinee spent its final timeout with 19.4 seconds left to try to set up a play in the half court, but after Reese Flores nearly came up with a steal, the Indians settled for a contested, off-balance 3 attempt by Freiboth that clanged off the left side of the rim just before time expired.
Friday marked Rhinelander's closest margin of victory since a 59-57 non-conference triumph over Green Bay East back on Dec. 1, the second win in the Hodags' current 12-game streak.
"I think tonight's game we're going to walk away from with a lot to work with," Lemmens said. "We found some holes. It's important in these 12-game win streaks to stay humble and know that you can still get beat. I think this game woke us up. We're not immune to a bad game and we've got to bring it every night."
Mosinee's six-point lead with less than four minutes to play matched its largest lead of the game. The Indians led 19-13 midway through the first half before the Hodags answered with a 16-3 run. Mosinee scored the final six points of the half, including a Justin Stubbe layup just before the buzzer to cut the lead to 29-28 at the break.
Mosinee took the lead on a Spink drive just over two minutes into the second half and didn't trail until Rhinelander's late surge.
"We're a very gutsy team," Lieder said. "That's what coach said in the locker room. That was pure guts at the end."
Comer used a different adjective, especially considering Rhinelander broke out its seldom-used man-to-man defense down the stretch to slow down the Indians.
"It was kind of a ballsy move and it worked out in the end," he said.
White led Rhinelander with 17 points and eight rebounds, despite a 6 of 18 night from the floor. The Hodags had all five of their starters score eight points or more. Lieder finished with 10, Comer and Flores had nine each and Howard chipped in eight.
Mosinee also had balance behind Spink's 19-point effort. Freiboth finished with 10. Kuhn finished with nine and Oliver Barnes, Mosinee's leading scorer entering the game, also had nine. Barnes sat for long stretches in the came, saddled with foul trouble. Mosinee finished 46 percent from the floor (22 of 48).
The second half of the Great Northern Conference season begins Friday night at Lakeland, which is tied with Mosinee and Medford for second in the conference at 4-2. The Hodags destroyed Lakeland 80-43 back on Dec. 8, but the T-Birds have since seen 6-4 forward Connor Evenhouse return to the lineup after missing the first several games of the season due to injury.
"They've got their players back. They've got depth. We're not going to be able to wear them down like we did the first time and they have a lot of size," Lemmens said.
Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].
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