November 23, 2018 at 2:48 p.m.
Hodags rally in the opener
Rhinelander closes strong to defeat Shawano 68-60
Hodags rally in the opener
Drake Martin scored a career-high 22 points and the Hodags rallied from down as many as seven points in the second half to defeat Shawano 68-60 Tuesday night in the 2018-19 season opener at the Jim Miazga Community Gymnasium.
Peyton Erikson was one of four players in double digits for Rhinelander (1-0, 0-0 Great Northern) and hit a 3 that gave the Hodags the lead for good with 5:16 to play. It was part of a closing 19-5 run for the Hodags.
"We were fortunate enough that they missed a few shots tonight," Hodag coach Derek Lemmens said. "When we finally stepped up and continued to play consistent D, they weren't getting those same looks."
Despite his six-foot frame, Martin was a factor inside all night long and was 14 of 16 from the free throw line in the contest.
"That was huge," Lemmens said. "That's an area Drake has struggled with in the past but him and (assistant) coach (Chad) Bolkema have worked hard on that shot and he's definitely showing a lot of confidence and swagger. He's a tough matchup because he's a bulldog. He's strong, but he's also explosive. When you put someone bigger (on him), he's able to take him off the drive and when you put someone smaller, he's able to pound him inside."
Shawano led much of the way, on the shoulders of a 25-point night from 6-7 junior Carter Weisnicht. Timely 3s by Nicholas Sherman and Karsten Anderson helped Shawano take a 34-30 lead at halftime.
Undersized to begin with, Lemmens said, the team didn't have much time to prepare for a dominant post player like Weisnicht. Tuesday's game was held eight days after the team's first practice of the winter.
"One thing we really haven't worked on and emphasized yet is stopping a big player," Lemmens said. "I thought Bryce Schickert did a great job of adapting. We really don't have a trap in yet. It's that short turnaround and it's one of those things we said, 'We're going to wait on that.' Without having those things in place, we really exposed ourselves, but I thought they guys did a good enough job of slowing him down. He's a good player. He can make shots. He can body inside. He's big. He's physical and he's got guys around him who can shoot. We never want to give up 25 points (to a player) but I thought, overall, they really made him earn what he got."
Shawano led 55-49 with six minutes remaining before the Hodags made their push. A three-point play by Martin and Brock Lieder made a free throw on back-to-back trips down the floor cut the lead to two before Erikson's go-ahead triple.
Ahead 60-58 with less than 90 seconds to play, Martin made a bucket and Junior Howard added a layup to push the Hodag lead to six. Free throws by Martin and sophomore Quinn Lamers in the final 20 seconds helped secure the win.
Statbook
Schickert had 13 points while Howard and Erikson each scored 10 for a Hodag squad that shot 47 percent from the field. In addition to leading the team in scoring, Martin had a team-high eight rebounds and four assists.
Sherman and Anderson joined Weisnicht in double digits for the Hawks with 12 and 10 points, respectively.
New faces
Martin and Erikson were used only sparingly on varsity last year while they split time on the Hodags' JV squad. They came up big Tuesday, but were not the only new faces in the rotation.
Seven different players scored for the Hodags, who went 10 deep in the rotation on Tuesday. Rhinelander was forced to go to its bench early as Howard, Lieder and Schicker - the three holdovers from last year's squad - ran into foul trouble.
"Guys stepped up, especially in the first half," Lemmens said. "Jason Huseby stepped up and I thought filled that role really well. Payton Johnson came in and gave us great minutes. All the guys just stepped up and picked up where those guys weren't able to."
Cool from 3
Though the Hodags shot 47 percent overall, they were only 4 of 16 from 3-point range, a relatively low clip for a team that figures to be more perimeter oriented this year after graduating dominant forward Owen White.
"Tonight was a quiet night from the perimeter," Lemmens said. "In the future, I'm hoping because we need to get more of 3-point presence. I didn't think we shot the ball that well from deep. Guys like Junior Howard, Quinn Lamers, Ross Skeen, they're going to knock down shots when they are open. I'm confident in that moving forward."
Man up
In a departure from seasons past, the Hodags primarily played man-to-man defense in Tuesday's opener. Lemmens said the team will likely rely on man, especially early in the season, given the team's lack of varsity experience.
Up next
Rhinelander hosted Stevens Point Friday night in a game that concluded after deadline. The Hodags are off until Dec. 4 when they host Marshfield in an non-conference contest at the Miazga Gym.
Information from Ben Meyer of WOBT AM/FM was used in this report.
Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].
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