December 28, 2020 at 7:44 a.m.
Late free throws help Hodag Hoops rally past D.C. Everest 84-82
Late free throws help Hodag Hoops rally past D.C. Everest 84-82
Ross Skeen scored a game-high 26 points - including six key free throws in the final minute - as the Hodags rallied past D.C. Everest 84-82 at the Jim Miazga Community Gymnasium.
Rhinelander (4-2, 2-1 Great Northern) survived an Everest team that hit 15 3-pointers and shot 54% overall, thanks in large part to its efforts from the foul line. Rhinelander was 25 of 30 from the stripe in the contest - including 9 of 11 over the final 48 seconds.
"We made free throws, and we made plays down the stretch when we needed to, and got a few key stops when we needed to," Hodag coach Derek Lemmens said. "We didn't get a lot of stops tonight, but we got some key ones. That was huge."
Trailing 78-75 late, fortunes turned for the Hodags when Skeen was fouled on a 3-point attempt with 47.2 seconds remaining. The foul was the fifth on D.C. Everest's Colton Hall, who was also assessed a technical foul while heading back to the bench after fouling out of the contest.
Skeen hit four of the ensuing five free throws. Then, with Rhinelander maintaining possession due to the technical, Skeen was fouled again and made one more free throw to put Rhinelander up 80-78 with 43.7 seconds left.
"That was a gigantic swing there. We were able to walk away from that with the lead," Lemmens said.
Marcus Hall was fouled on the other end of the floor, but was only able to make 1 of 2 from the line. Quinn Lamers was then fouled with 19.4 seconds left and made both free throws to put the Hodags up three. Lamers extended the lead to five with two more foul shots after Everest was called for a double dribble.
Landon Mezei banked in a 3 for Everest with a second remaining, but the Evergreens were out of timeouts and time expired before the Hodags had to inbound the ball.
For awhile, it seemed like it would be deja vu for the Hodags, who watched a 10-point second-half lead evaporate last February in an 86-70 loss at D.C. Everest. Rhinelander led 63-54 with 9:56 remaining, but Everest went on a 22-7 run over the next 6 minutes, 47 seconds - including four 3-pointers - to take a 76-70 lead.
Skeen scored on a layup with 2:57 left - Rhinelander's last field goal of the night.
From there, a pair of Skeen free throws with 2:30 left, followed by a make at the line from Lamers with 2:13 to go, cut Everest's lead to 76-75. Marcus Hall made a runner with 1:05 left to push Everest's lead to eight. Logan Ebersold scored 23 points, had nine rebounds and was 5 of 12 from 3-point range for D.C. Everest. Colton Hall had 20 and Marcus Hall had 17 as Everest finished the night 30 of 56 from the floor.
"Everest shot the ball just as well as you can, but part of it was we just need to take steps forward defensively. Toward the end, when we needed those stops, I thought we did," Lemmens said.
Lamers chipped in 21 points in the win for Rhinelander, Travis Towne added 17 and Caleb Olcikas chipped in eight points and 11 rebounds.
"Quinn Lamers had an excellent game tonight, which was good because I really got after him after the Medford game, on both ends of the court. I thought he did a great job responding," Lemmens said. "It was another example of the basketball moving, being shared and a lot of guys getting buckets. Ross hit some big shots. Travis had some big shots. We got some good minutes from a lot of guys and it really was a team effort."
D.C. Everest led 43-41 at halftime of a back-and-forth game that featured seven ties and 12 lead changes. Rhinelander finished the night 45% from the field on 26 of 58 shooting - including 7 of 20 from 3-point range.
"We have yet to really shoot from 3 as well as we can. I think we were around 33% tonight, but I like that because these guys have really been selective and have made good choices on when to shoot the 3 and when not to," Lemmens said. "As the season goes on - especially with our football guys - they get more and more reps in the gym and I think we're going to start seeing some shots fall."
Rhinelander returns to action this evening, hosting Freedom in a non-conference game at the Miazga Gym.
Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].
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