February 10, 2022 at 10:06 a.m.
Medford routs Hodag Hoops 62-39 in rematch
Medford routs Hodag Hoops 62-39 in rematch
Joey Sullivan led the Raiders with 23 points and 11 rebounds, Logan Baumgartner collected his 1,000th career point and the Raiders rushed past Rhinelander 62-39 in Medford.
The Hodags were ice cold in the first half as Medford raced out to a 19-4 lead over the first eight-plus minutes of the game. Rhinelander's leading scorer, Jacksen Smith, was held scoreless in the first half. Overall, the Hodags hit only two of their first 10 shots from the field while committing five turnovers over the game's first nine minutes.
The Hodags (8-10, 4-4 Great Northern) trailed 38-15 at the break as they suffered their firth straight loss.
"They just played so aggressive and it bothered us. We missed some shots early. They hit some shots early and, pretty soon, it just balloons," Hodag coach Derek Lemmens said. "We just don't do a great job of getting open and occupying defenders. They sent a lot of players at (Jackson Zettler), double teams, and guys that weren't being guarded weren't alert and making themselves available and making them pay."
Rhinelander entered a raucous Raider Hall against a Medford team looking to avenge a 55-49 loss to the Hodags in January. Baumgartner was 2-of-18 from the field that night, but the junior had 17 points on 6 of 16 shooting Tuesday. That included a putback with 9:54 remaining in the first half that ended the Raiders' opening 19-4 salvo and allowed Baumgartner to surpass the 1,000-point milestone.
Lemmens said his team was not equipped to deal with the tough road environment.
"We have to get better at executing little details," he said. "When we're in that environment, that's where just drilling and muscle memory and execution of the details becomes that much more important and we're not doing those things. We struggled to get open and make passes. That's a credit to their defense and their style of play, but it's also something we have to get better at."
Rhinelander's shooting woes continued in the contest. The Hodags shot 37% (16 of 43) overall and were only 6 of 20 from the field in the first half with no made 3-pointers.
Will Gretzinger ended up leading Rhinelander with 11 points while Smith had 10. Both players did all of their scoring in the second half. Zettler made an impact inside in the first half with eight points, but was shut out in the second.
Tuesday loss marked the fourth time during the Hodags' five-game skid that they failed to shoot at least 40% from the field.
"We don't really talk about record or how many games straight (we lost), but you see in our shooting, that's becoming an issue," Lemmens said when asked about his team's confidence level. "This is many games now where we're struggling to find the hoop. We played Mosinee well last Friday, and I think that's important, but I think we need to see the ball go through the hoop. Certain guys need to see shots fall, start to get a little confidence and mojo going and then, hopefully we can build on that."
Sullivan got his 23 points without the aid of a free throw and was 11 of 18 from the field overall. Tanner Hraby added 10 points for the Raiders (14-5, 7-3 Great Northern), who were an even 50% (24 of 48) from the field.
The loss put Rhinelander in a precarious spot prior to seeding later this month for the WIAA tournament which, for the first time, will be done by computer rankings. With two losses to Mosinee, as well as losses to Medford, Wausau East and Merrill, the Hodags find themselves fading from contention for a top five seed and a first-round bye in the 11-team regional.
A potential pivotal seeding game will take place tonight at home against Lakeland. The Hodags defeated the Thunderbirds 50-36 in Minocqua last month.
"I think, for the most part, that's one of those games where we are now starting to jockey for a pretty big spot here," Lemmens said. "Then also, (we need) to just stop the bleeding right now. (Northland) Pines at home on Monday and then at Marshfield on Tuesday, those are tall orders. We really need to get ourselves on the winning side again before the season ends."
Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].
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