December 13, 2021 at 8:32 a.m.
Hodag Hoops beats Shawano 58-52
Hodag Hoops beats Shawano 58-52
Jacksen Smith had a game-high 19 points, including seven free throws over the final two minutes, as the Hodags edged the Hawks 58-52 in a non-conference contest at Shawano.
Rhinelander watched an 11-point second half lead slip to three with 7:20 remaining, but answered and then made 10 of 12 free throws form the line late to improve to 2-1 on the season.
"The two games that we've been successful in we've made free throws down the stretch," Hodag coach Derek Lemmens said. "That's big moving forward, because they get confidence in these situations and we knew at the beginning of the year if we were going to win games, they're going to be close games. We're going to be battling teams and we have to do things like making free throws."
Ryan Jamison added 12 points and nine rebounds for Rhinelander and hit a 3 that gave Rhinelander the lead for good at 18-16 with 4:26 left in the first half. The Hodags took a 23-20 lead into the break and then made six of their first eight shots from the field to start the second as the lead increased to 40-29.
"That's huge early on, coming into the rest of the game to get started and get feeling good right away," Lemmens said. "They had a good first half, so it was a nice momentum builder and they were able to carry that into the rest of the game."
Shawano's best run of the game after that, starting with a Brandon Reed fourth-chance put back that sparked a 9-1 run for the hawks. Michael Metcalf-Grassman hit his third 3 of the second half to cut the lead to 41-38 with 7:20 remaining.
Rhinelander answered the bell with an Alexx Huff tip-in that began a mini 7-1 push. Forward Jackson Zettler, who scored all 12 of his points in the second half, had a pair of hoops in the run that extended the lead to 48-39 with 4:30 remaining.
Ethan Schwitzer made a basket and then converted a three-point play to cut the lead to four with 2:41 left, but Elliott Lowney rattled out a 3 that would have made it a one-point game and the Hawks began to foul in an effort to extend the game on Rhinelander's next trip down the floor.
The result bucked a trend in the non-conference series between the Hodags and Hawks. In each of the previous two seasons, the road team was unable to hold on to a double-digit second half lead and eventually lost. Rhinelander lost a 15-point halftime lead at Shawano in the 2019-20 season opener, falling 60-59 on a last-second free throw. The Hawks blew a 16-point lead over the final 4:23 of regulation last January in Rhinelander, falling in overtime 54-51.
"That's a good, athletic team with a lot of scoring potential," Lemmens said. "No lead really feels that comfortable. Even when it was at seven and eight, you know that's only a couple of possessions and they're right back in it. I thought we did a nice job of not allowing consecutive baskets and really not allowing runs. Shawano I think had one true run. Other than that, we kind of kept everything segmented. That's really important."
Rhinelander got dominated on the glass and in the paint last Tuesday night as it relinquished a 12-point second-half lead to Wausau East and lost in overtime, 79-75. It was a much more even fight on Saturday against a Hawks team that, like Rhinelander, did not list anyone taller than 6-foot-3 on its roster. The Hawks were also more than content to pull up from the outside. Shawano finished 8 of 33 from 3-point range on the evening and shot only 30% from the field (19 of 63) overall.
Rhinelander finished with a 42-36 edge on the glass and had six players record five or more rebounds.
"I thought, overall, everyone was more aggressive on the glass," Lemmens said. "They were an athletic team. Jackson Zettler did a great job, especially with his weak side presence defensively. He was early to spots. The team, as a whole, I just felt like more guys were involved in the actual rebounding. That was a big thing."
Zettler was limited in the first half after picking up two fouls over the first 5:55 of the contest but, overall, Rhinelander was much cleaner on the night. After being called for 27 fouls in each of their first two games, the Hodags were whistled only 11 times on Saturday night.
"We didn't beat ourselves with things like that, fouls 84 feet from the hoop, giving them free throws and giving them easy opportunities," Lemmens said. "I don't even know how many free throws they shot, but it wasn't many. We made them have to make baskets and didn't allow them to get a rhythm from the line."
Shawano attempted just 10 free throws on the night, making six. Schwitzer led Shawano with 16 points while Metcalf-Grassman had 14.
Huff added nine points for Rhinelander, which shot 39% (18 of 46) from the field and was 6 of 17 from 3-point range. Huff, Jamison, Zettler, Ty Welk and Caleb Olcikas are settling in after seeing few if any varsity minutes last year.
"I feel like they've done an excellent job," Lemmens said. "They've stayed the course. They've kept it simple. They haven't tried to do too much and every mistake that they make, I think they're learning from, which is what's important. We're not seeing a lot of the same repeated mistakes."
What was to have been Rhinelander's Great Northern Conference opener against Northland Pines on Friday night was snowed out and a make-up date has not yet been announced. That means Rhinelander will begin GNC play on the road at Mosinee this coming Friday night.
"It's going to be a very difficult test on the road with a Mosinee team that's been very dynamic so far," Lemmens said. "They're playing fast. We're going to have to continue to improve our lungs, hopefully get a little healthier so we have a little more of a bench and just keep doing what we do. We're looking to change up a few things as well that will hopefully help us in that game and start off the conference run on the right foot."
Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].
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