March 2, 2020 at 12:44 p.m.
RHS boys still looking to find way entering tournament run
RHS boys still looking to find way entering tournament run
That's two fewer wins than the team had a season ago, mainly attributed to the Hodags' struggles in close contests. Half of Rhinelander's contests have been decided by 10 points or less. The Hodags are 3-8 in those games.
That's part of the reason the Hodags are playing on the opening night of the WIAA Division 2 boys' basketball tournament, hosting Ashland this evening in a regional quarterfinal contest. The Hodags are the seven seed in their 11-team regional to begin the tournament.
Rhinelander has put itself in position to win many times, case and point last Thursday when the Hodags held a 13-point lead with 10 minutes to play at D.C. Everest only to lose 86-70. The team's struggles to finish in the second half have been a story all season.
"I feel like this is kind of the broken record," Hodag coach Derek Lemmens said after the Everest game. "Now we can have something to learn from moving forward. I'm hoping we're done learning now and we're schooled enough where we can start closing some games out."
The tournament draw actually sets up well for the Hodags. The path to what some would consider to be an unlikely regional title includes potential matchups against teams Rhinelander matched up well against this year but, in order to still be dancing into and beyond this weekend, there will likely come a moment when the Hodags will need to perform with the game on the line.
The winner of tonight's game heads to second-seeded Merrill next Friday.
Rhinelander was competitive in a game with Merrill last Tuesday, down by a point with less than seven minutes remaining before fading to a 74-64 defeat. An upset at Merrill could set the stage for a third-meeting against GNC rival Mosinee, which drew the No. 3 seed for the tournament, in the regional finals. Rhinelander split the regular season series with the Indians, including a win at Mosinee Dec. 13.
"Every team in that bracket is someone we can beat. It's exciting knowing that we can do something moving forward," Lemmens said, who added that having to play in the first round of the tournament is not necessarily a disadvantage. "We've got Ashland on our court. When we're in this situation, I kind of like having that playoff game, the first opportunity to kind of get that playoff feel for a lot of guys and get the jitters out of our system a little bit. Hopefully we're successful on our court and we're moving to meet a Merrill team that's playing its first playoff game of the year."
First thing's first, the Hodags have to take care of an Ashland team that is not afraid to score the basketball. The Oredockers, despite their 7-15 record, have averaged nearly 63 points per game this year. Junior guard Kevon Powell leads the Oredockers averaging 23.2 points per game and 6-8 senior forward Kyle Sapper is averaging 14.8 points per game for Ashland.
"They've got some explosive players. They've got a big 6-8 guy that can fill the lane," Lemmens said. "We have to make sure that we're getting turns, we're keeping guys in front, taking care of the basketball and, if we just execute, we should be fine."
Defense has been a liability this year for the Oredockers. Ashland is allowed 76.9 points per game and has allowed more than 100 points on five separate occasions so far this year.
Ashland is under the direction of first-year head coach Lisa Karau who is no stranger to the GNC, going back to her playing days at Mosinee in the early 2000s. She was also the head girls' basketball coach at Tomahawk prior to taking the Ashland job.
Tip off it set for 7 p.m. at the Miazga Gym.
Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].
Comments:
You must login to comment.