February 7, 2022 at 12:45 p.m.
Hodag Hoops' rally stalls against Mosinee
Hodag Hoops' rally stalls against Mosinee
Rhinelander recorded only one field goal over the final seven minutes as its comeback bid fizzled out in a 55-44 loss to the Indians at the Jim Miazga Community Gymnasium.
Jacksen Smith had a team-high 15 points for Rhinelander and was fouled as he made a transition layup that got the Hodags within one with 3:19 to play, but Smith missed the ensuing free throw and Rhinelander was held scoreless from there.
As a team, Rhinelander shot 31.5% (17 of 54) from the field and was only 3 of 21 from beyond the arc.
The Hodags trailed by as many as 12 in the second half before rallying, but could never fully get over the hump.
"We needed a hula hoop tonight, unfortunately," Rhinelander coach Derek Lemmens said. "We're 33% from the field and we got a really good looks, we've just to keep working so we can knock those down."
Mosinee's Davin Stoffel had 18 points and 15 rebounds, including a jumper that put the Indians back up three with 3:08 left. That was the game's final field goal as Mosinee scored its final eight points from the foul line.
Stoffel, a 6-6 forward, had to work for his points. He was 7 of 13 from the field and just 4 of 14 from the foul line.
"He made some tough shots," Lemmens said. "The go-ahead jump shot in transition that he hits, players are going to make plays and we're not going to stop a guy like Davin Stoffel, but I felt we really didn't let him just take over the game."
"Our energy and our effort was good. This is a game I felt like we executed the game plan," Lemmens added.
The teams traded the lead early, but Mosinee took control with a 17-7 run late in the first half and led 27-22 at the break. The Indians then started on an 8-1 run over the first four minutes of the second to increase the lead to 12 points.
Jackson Zettler had nine points for Rhinelander and scored seven points in the second half as part of a run that got Rhinelander to within 42-36 with 9:03 to play. Ryan Jamison hit the Hodags' lone 3 of the second half to cut the lead to three and then made a mid-range jumper with 7 minutes to play to cut the lead to 44-42.
Overall, however, Rhinelander's shooters struggled to make shots against a fast, aggressive Mosinee defense. Smith was 6 of 16 from the field, Jamison was 2 of 10 and sophomore Will Gretzinger was just 1 of 8 off the bench.
"It's hard to really get great, positive energy when you're struggling to put the ball in," Lemmens said. "We've proven in many games that we're not a good, consistent shooting team yet. That's maybe something we need to emphasize more in practice because tonight I thought we got really good looks, we just didn't knock them down."
Keagen Jirschele added 14 points for Mosinee (18-1, 9-0 Great Northern), which inched closer to the conference title. The Indians can clinch at least a share of the GNC crown with a home win over Northland Pines on Tuesday.
The Indians appear to be on pace for perhaps a No. 1 seed for the upcoming WIAA playoffs. The Hodags also lost to Mosinee 54-42 in Mosinee Dec. 17. After two low-scoring, competitive games against the Indians, Lemmens said his team would not be afraid to face them a third time in the postseason, should that matchup come to pass.
"This is the No. 1 or No. 2 team in our regional, so you can't tell me we can't go into the playoffs feeling like we can't make some noise," he said. "We really put a damper on our conference hopes, but now we look forward and we keep trucking one game at a time and we say, 'hey, how good can we be at the end of this season?' That's got to be our goal."
Rhinelander (8-9, 4-3 Great Northern) dropped its fourth straight game to fall below .500 for the first time since Jan. 3. The Hodags also fell to fourth in the conference standings, behind Medford, where Rhinelander will play tonight.
The Hodags upset the Raiders 55-49 in Rhinelander last month.
"They're going to be hungry and they're going to be angry and we're going to have to make some shots," Lemmens said.
Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].
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