February 13, 2023 at 9:02 a.m.
Hodag hoops fends off Lakeland's comeback bid
Hodag hoops fends off Lakeland's comeback bid
Will Gretzinger scored a game-high 28 points and made four free throws over the final 12.7 seconds as the Hodags defeated Lakeland 57-53 in Minocqua.
Rhinelander led 48-35 with 5:58 to play but Lakeland trimmed the lead to one on a Layton Larsen putback with 1:50 to play. The Hodags hit their final six foul shots to secure the season sweep over Lakeland.
"It felt great. We've had a tough stretch, but we kept fighting," Gretzinger said. "Coach just says 'be patient, it will come.' Today was the day and we got the dub."
Rhinelander (6-14, 4-6 Great Northern) could not keep the momentum going Saturday, however, as it fell to Marathon 69-55 at home.
Friday's game followed a similar script to Rhinelander's 68-57 win over Lakeland Jan. 6. The Hodags built a large second half lead, only to have to hold on after the T-Birds made a late run. This time, however, Rhinelander had less of a margin to play with.
"We haven't been in many situations this year like this," Hodag coach Derek Lemmens said. "Our games, even the games we battled, we're still looking at eight points and teams pulling away, so right down to the wire, I think the last one was really (an overtime loss at) Wausau East (in December). The guys have come a long ways. We've got some things we can continue to improve but, overall, on someone's home court they make their comeback and guys stayed strong, stayed together. That showed some fortitude."
Will Fortier scored 16 to lead Lakeland, but it was the T-Birds role players who helped make up the margin thanks to a combination of tip-ins, free throws and offensive rebounds. Brayden Wiczek converted a three-point play to cut the lead down to 51-48 with 2:30 left and the Larsen scored a putback to shrink the lead down to 51-50.
"We really had trouble finishing the play," Lemmens said. "We got them to miss and they kind of bullied us. It got very physical on both ends. We have to find way to counter that physicality and we have to find ways to finish with the rebound. I think they had 10 offensive rebounds in the second half and we just can't let that happen. That's really what allowed them to climb back into this."
Jordan LeGere hit two free throws for Rhinelander to make it a 53-50 with 1:12 remaining. Lakeland then had a long possession end with Fortier missing a 3 with 17.6 seconds left. Gretzinger hit two free throws with 12.4 seconds left before Fortier hit a quick 3 - only Lakeland's second of the contest - with 6.4 seconds left. Gretzinger was fouled before Rhinelander got the ball inbounds and hit two more free throws to ice it.
"If you want to win games, you've got to make free throws and put it away and guys did that," Lemmens said. "Will stepped up big, Jordan stepped up big. It was really nice to see guys have that opportunity and step up in the moment."
Rhinelander hit 3s early in the game as they took a 29-18 lead to the break. The Hodags hit nine triples in the contest, including five from Gretzinger and three from Kyle Brown, who finished with 13 points.
"It's huge for us. We need Kyle. He's our leader. He's an excellent shooter and to see him kind of climb out of that funk tonight was great," Lemmens said. "Hopefully, moving forward, this just continues to build his confidence and he continues to fire because the kid's put in the time and he's got the skills. He's just got to go out there and continue to execute."
Rhinelander's ability beyond the arc went a long way in deciding the outcome. The Hodags were 9 of 19 from distance, while Lakeland shot only 2 of 16.
The win moved Lemmens to 19-3 against his former coach Rich Fortier in Fortier's 11 seasons at Lakeland. Lemmens said he cherishes the opportunities against his old mentor not knowing how many more meetings will be left - especially with Fortier's youngest son set to graduate this spring.
"He's been such a huge part of my entire life - as a player, as a coach. It's always bittersweet, but it's obviously enjoyable getting the win," Lemmens said. "We'll talk some smack sometime down the road, but I really admire him and he's done so much for me, and continues to do so much for me. He's just an amazing person in my eyes and I'm just proud to share these opportunities."
Marathon 69, Rhinelander 55
The Hodags fell behind early and never could fully catch up in a 14-point loss to the Raiders Saturday night.
Marathon started the game on a 13-0 run and then used a 17-0 spurt on either side of halftime to help salt the game away.
Though Rhinelander was able to put up 40 points in the second half, it was not able to slow down 6-9 junior Grant Warren, who finished with 26 points and 16 rebounds. He was simply hard to guard all night.
"Especially when we're 6-1," Lemmens said, noting Rhinelander's distinct height disadvantage. "We were able to battle a very talented 6-9 player. That's just experience we take with us when we guard the next big."
Warren had eight alone in Marathon's opening 13-0 run. Rhinelander was able to claw back to within five on a Will Quinn transition layup with 5:03 left in the half, but Marathon scored 11 straight from there to take a 31-15 lead at the break. The Raiders then got six more to start the second before Gretzinger ended the drought with a left-wing 3.
"We missed shots. You could tell, especially first half, legs are tired (playing) back-to-back games, but that's kind of that playoff look that we are going for, trying to replicate that fatigue that we're going to encounter again, hopefully," Lemmens said.
Rhinelander closed the lead to 52-37 on a Gretzinger make with 8:22 remaining, but Marathon used a 17-5 run for there to ice it before the Hodags scored the final 13 points of the game to make the final score more respectable.
Mason Seehafer added 14 points for Marathon, which shot 48% on the night.
"A team like that you've got to beat. They're not going to beat themselves and we just didn't have and that's just a good, quality team with a lot of threats," Lemmens said.
Gretzinger led the Hodags with 18, Brown had nine and sophomore Seth Nofftz chipped in a career-high eight points off the bench.
Rhinelander returns to action this coming Friday at home against Antigo.
Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].
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