February 15, 2021 at 7:40 a.m.
Seniors shine for Hodag hoops in regular season finale over Antigo
Seniors shine for Hodag hoops in regular season finale over Antigo
Quinn Lamers led the charge with 20 points, and the Hodag offense erupted to defeat Antigo 81-67 in the regular season finale at the Jim Miazga Community Gymnasium.
Rhinelander had seven players, including five seniors, score seven or more points in the contest as it broke out of an offensive funk. Rhinelander shot 53.6% on the night, drained 11 3-pointers and finished with its second-highest total of the season behind only the 84 points the team scored in a win over D.C. Everest Dec. 22.
"I loved the energy our guys had. I thought seniors came out swinging right away," Hodag coach Derek Lemmens said. "This isn't my preferred style, but this is the style that they wanted to play. This is their game. This is their last opportunity on this court in the regular season, so we cut them loose a little bit."
The biggest difference between Thursday night's game and Rhinelander's 73-33 win at Antigo Jan. 21 was that Antigo shot the ball significantly better. Eli Fleischman, who keeps his feet on the ground in an unusual way of shooting, hit six 3s on his way to a game-high 27 points. The Red Robins shot 51% from the floor, as opposed to 26.1% in the first meeting.
"They had a really nice attack against our zone. Our zone struggled tonight. We got exposed. It's something to look at and learn from," Lemmens said. "They had guys hitting. I don't know at what point that we were going to decide to guard Fleischman. He doesn't have the world's fastest shot, or the most orthodox, but we didn't want to guard it and he was able to get 27."
Rhinelander never trailed in the contest as Lamers scored 11 points in the first 3 minutes, 21 seconds of the game, part of a 13-4 opening run for the Hodags. Antigo closed to within three, down 21-18, with 10:15 left in the half, but Rhinelander turned it on from there to take a 38-29 lead at the break. Antigo never got to within single digits in the second half. Rhinelander was up by as many as 24 in the second before Antigo made a 20-8 run that included six 3s to pull within 75-63 with 1:32 to play.
Antigo got no closer as Rhinelander made six of its final seven free throw attempts. The Hodags were 10 of 11 from the line overall, snapping out of a funk in which the team had shot only 51.4% from the line (38 of 74) in its previous four contests.
"That's the biggest one because that's a mental game right there," Lemmens said. "For us to see the ball go through a couple times, especially for our key guards that we need down the stretch to make free throws, that was big."
Skeen added 12 points for the Hodags and Jackson Labs added 11. Devyn Orth and Kirk Mathews, who normally come off the bench, scored eight and seven, respectively on senior night starts. Jacques Tulowitzky also started for the Hodags, along with Skeen and Lamers.
"Devyn's probably the smartest player on our team in terms of basketball IQ within the offense," Lemmens said. "He makes great cuts. He understands the reads. What he's lacking is that killer instinct. He's hesitant. So when he gets it in his mind that he's just going to do things, he can do things really well.
"Kirk's kind of the same way and Kirk likes to set screens. He likes to be physical. He brings that element to our game. Jacques looks very unorthodox. He started the game late, but he has the ability to do some nice things and he's actually a very smart player himself. On the bench, he's recognizing things and talking."
Logan Thomae added 14 points for Antigo while Conner Kolz had 11 as the Robins (2-10, 2-10) had their highest offensive output of the season.
The Hodags (13-5, 10-2 Great Northern) are now off until this coming Friday when they will host a WIAA Division 2 regional semifinal game against the winner of tonight's quarterfinal matchup between Mosinee and Wausau East.
Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].
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