December 21, 2020 at 8:15 a.m.
Medford mashes Hodag Hoops 83-47
Medford mashes Hodag Hoops 83-47
Reigning GNC player of the year Peyton Kuhn scored 20 points to lead the Raiders as Medford blitzed Rhinelander 83-47. The Raiders put the pedal down with a 21-5 run midway through the first half and never looked back on a night when they hit 12 3-pointers and shot 53% from the field overall.
"This was 100% them being better than us in every way, shape and form," Rhinelander coach Derek Lemmens said. "Now, from this point on, we need to focus, we need to improve what we do, we need to become more fundamentally sound in what we do and we need to start executing better. Defensively, we need to be a little nastier."
The Raiders' speed, athleticism and shooting ability ultimately proved to be a lethal combination for the Hodags. Rhinelander committed 21 turnovers in the contest, and shot only 39% (17 of 44) from the field as Medford raced out to a 43-26 lead at halftime and stretched the lead to as many as 39 points in the second half.
Ultimately, Medford was able to dictate the flow of the game, and had its way .
"They get you playing fast and the simple, fundamental things - just one-on-one getting open, meeting passes, making good passes, all those things - become that much more difficult," Lemmens said. "We weren't able to execute, really in any way. We were able to make a few 3s, but they picked us apart defensively. They just smothered us when we were on offense. We just didn't do anything really well tonight and they did everything very well.
"They played their best game, we played one of our worst. Everything we wanted to do, we didn't. Everything they wanted to do, they did. It just got out of control in the end."
Sophomore Logan Baumgartner had 19 points for the Raiders. Joey Sullivan, listed at 5-7, had 17 points and five rebounds - all on the offensive glass. Brady Hupf added a double-double for the Raiders with 10 points and 10 rebounds.
Ross Skeen continued to stay hot from outside for the Hodags as the scored a team-high 16 points. He was 4 of 6 from 3-point range in the contest to improve to an even 50% from deep this season (12 of 24).
"Ross can shoot. That's definitely something we know and everyone knows. That's going to be something we can rely on all year," Lemmens said.
Jackson Labs hit a couple of early 3s for the Hodags as he scored a season-high 14 points.
"It was good to see Jackson Labs come alive offensively because he is a weapon for us," Lemmens noted. "He has that ability and we're going to need him to start gaining some confidence as we continue to try to become a team that has the ability to really spread the floor and have a lot of guys that can put the ball through the hoop."
Medford improved to 3-0 in league play while Rhinelander dropped to 2-1. The good news is the Hodags are only one game back in the loss column on the Raiders, and the teams will meet again Feb. 5 in Rhinelander. But Friday night's loss proved the Hodags have plenty of room for improvement in the interim.
"As crazy as it sounds, I guess I'd rather just get destroyed like this, because this is a message right now," Lemmens said. "This is a message to us as coaches. This is a message to the players that you are a long way from where you want to be. If that doesn't wake you up, nothing will."
Rhinelander hosts D.C. Everest tonight in a non-conference game at the Jim Miazga Community Gymnasium.
Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].
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