Hodag Hoops unable to close out late at Merrill

For the second time in three nights, the Rhinelander High School boys’ basketball team was unable to make plays down the stretch in a tight non-conference contest.

Merrill’s EJ Weix scored 36 points, including a go-ahead 3 with 2:46 remaining, as the Bluejays defeated the Hodags 72-66 in Merrill.

Weix’s right wing triple broke a 61-all deadlock and sparked a key 7-0 run for Merrill. Rhinelander got to within two off a Will Gretzinger 3 with 1:13 remaining, but was unable to get any closer.

“We had chances to put them away and we missed big plays and they made the plays,” Hodag coach Derek Lemmens said. “I was more disappointed with our inability to really get stops when we needed them.” 

“We gave up 72 points. That’s two pretty high-scoring games in a row for us and, both times, a very similar player getting those points,” Lemmens added, referencing the 27 points the Hodags allowed to Wausau West’s Brett Butalla in a 68-59 loss on Tuesday night.

Weix scored 24 in the second half alone in a back-and-forth game that saw 10 ties and 15 lead changes. He added a pair of free throws and a spinning layup to put Merrill up 68-61 with 1:42 left. Will Quinn was fouled battling for a potential rebound on the play and made two free throws on the other end and Gretzinger’s deep 3 from the top of the key pulled Rhinelander with 68-66.  

The Hodags got the ball back following a missed jumper, but Gretzinger missed a deep 3 off the left wing. Carter Baade was then fouled and made two free throws to make it a two-score game with 33.5 seconds to play. Another missed deep 3 by Devon Feck led to another Merrill defensive rebound and the Bluejays were able to salt the game away from the foul line.

It marked the second straight game that the Hodags were unable to come up with a key play down two with the basketball late in the second half.

“We’re down two. We have the ball and we took a long, quick 3. It’s little things like that were we have to kind of mature in those situations and know, ‘Hey, we’ve got time,’” Lemmens said. “We kind of panicked and rushed a little bit. It’s new territory for this team. We haven’t been in a lot of games like this up until Tuesday and tonight. It’s things we can learn from and grow from.”

Rhinelander closed the first half on a 6-2 run to take a 32-31 lead to the break. The Hodags led on five separate occasions in the second half, but never had a lead larger than five. Their last lead game at the 5:45 mark as Gretzinger, who led the team with 23 points, hit a fadeaway jumper to make it 57-56. Merrill scored the next four points at the line and did not trail the rest of the way. 

Feck added 12 points for Rhinelander off the bench, Truman Lamers scored 11 and Seth Nofftz had 10. Rhinelander finished the night just over 40% from the field on 21 of 52 shooting.

“We didn’t have a hot hand. A lot of guys stepped up and made things happen,” Lemmens said. “We’ve got a lot of guys that can score. We should be the type of team where we have a lot of guys with 6-8 points, but we just have to keep sharing the ball and maximizing that stuff.”

Sam Reimann added 15 points for Merrill while Baade chipped in 10. The Bluejays had similar shooting numbers, going just under 38% on 20 of 53 from the field, but got to the foul line 31 times, making 24 of them.

Lemmens said defense will be a top priority for the Hodags (5-3, 3-0 Great Northern) over the holidays.

“We’ve got to be better defensively. We had too many mental lapses, too many late rotations,” he said. “We just haven’t put it all together. We do have a lot of youth. These are growing pains. I am excited about the fact that we’re very capable. We’re on the cusp, but we’re not there yet. We’ve just got to stay hungry. It’s a non-conference game on the road. It’s not the end of the world, but it’s frustrating because I thought we should have had this one.”

Rhinelander is on the road this Thursday at Ashland.  

Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].