February 11, 2021 at 7:56 a.m.
Hodag hoops holds on for two wins
Hodag hoops holds on for two wins
Rhinelander withstood a second-half Lakeland rally to win 61-52 on Monday in Minocqua and then erased a 10-point first-half deficit a night later in a 68-49 win at Tomahawk.
"At the end of the day, we found a way to finish, but we want to continue to move forward and be playing better basketball at this juncture of time," Hodag coach Derek Lemmens said.
Rhinelander 61, Lakeland 52
The Hodags let a 15-point second-half lead evaporate, but responded to edge Lakeland on Monday night.
Rhinelander led 48-33 with 10:37 to play, but Lakeland answered with a 19-4 run, capped by a Will Fortier 3-pointer with 5:04 left to tie the game at 52. Fortier was fouled as he made the 3-point shot, but missed the subsequent free throw and Lakeland did not score the rest of the way.
Quinn Lamers started and ended the 9-0 run down the stretch for Rhinelander. He hit a 3 to put Rhinelander back in front with 4:41 to play. With the Hodags up seven, Lamers' steal and layup in transition with 20 seconds left put the final nail in Lakeland's coffin. Lamers finished the night with 12 points for Rhinelander.
Ross Skeen tied for a game-high with 22 for the Hodags. He hit 4 of 6 attempts from 3 in the first half as his 18 points helped Rhinelander to a 35-23 lead at the break.
The Fortier brothers Alex and Will - sons of former Rhinelander and current Lakeland head coach Rich Fortier - had another big night against the Hodags. Alex Fortier scored Lakeland's first 10 points of the second half and finished the night with 22 points and 12 rebounds. Will Fortier drained four 3s - including three in Lakeland's big second-half run - to finish with 17 points.
"We really tightened up and they made their run on our starters," Lemmens said. "It wasn't like bench guys were giving up that. That was our starters. Again, just not executing and just strange energy. We've got to find ways, when that's happening, to get ourselves out of it. We weren't able to do that very well tonight."
Rhinelander 68, Tomahawk 49
Tuesday's game at Tomahawk followed a similar script to the first meeting of the season between the Hodags and the Hatchets.
Rhinelander overcame a sluggish start, thanks to a late first-half run, and the momentum carried over into the second half as the Hodags won 68-49 at Hatchet Fieldhouse.
Rhinelander found itself down 25-15 with 5:40 left in the first before the offense finally started moving. The Hodags outscored the Hatchets 10-0 over the final 2:40 of the half to take a 30-27 lead at the break, and then opened the second half on an 11-4 run to build a lead they would never relinquish.
"We had a thimble hanging up there the first part of the game, missing a lot of really good looks, layups," Lemmens said. "We took care of the ball, were patient but just didn't make shots and, on the other end, they were hitting everything. We were able to make a run right before the end of the half, force some turnovers, picked up tempo a little bit, made some shots, got a little mojo and went into half up 3."
Rhinelander slowly increased the lead in the second half, thanks to some adjustments to is pressure. Jacksen Smith had a game-high 18 points for Rhinelander, Skeen chipped in 10 and Kirk Mathews added eight points off the bench.
Payton Bunce led Tomahawk with 12 points before fouling out late in the second half.
Conference results
The Hodags were assured of finishing no worse than in a tie for second in the GNC following Monday and Tuesday's games. Rhinelander's slim hopes of claiming a share of a conference title were dashed Monday when Medford routed Northland Pines at home 76-53 behind a career-high 37 points from Peyton Kuhn. The Raiders won their second consecutive outright conference title and had a chance to wrap up a perfect GNC season on the road at Mosinee on Thursday.
The Hodags wrapped up the regular season at home against Antigo on Thursday following press time for today's edition. Rhinelander will be back in action a week from tonight as it will host a WIAA Division 2 regional semifinal game. The Hodags await the winner of Tuesday night's regional semifinal game between Mosinee and Wausau East.
Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].
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