February 20, 2023 at 9:37 a.m.
Hodag hoops rallies past Antigo in defensive struggle
Hodag hoops rallies past Antigo in defensive struggle
Will Gretzinger broke a 31-all tie on a free throw with 2.5 seconds remaining and the Hodags snuck past Antigo 32-31 at the Jim Miazga Community Gymnasium.
Rhinelander erased a five-point deficit in the final minute and won in spite of a 24% shooting night from the field.
"It shows, hey, you've just got to be gritty," Hodag coach Derek Lemmens said. "Things don't always work out, especially on the offensive end, so just stay the course. When we look at the way we played, defensively, that was so crucial. Things weren't going our way, but guys didn't waiver. They won it on the other end. They didn't let one thing effect the other. You just keep playing and things fall into place."
Flummoxed most of the night by a triangle-and-2 defense - employed by Antigo coach, and former Rhinelander assistant, Shaun Smith to takeaway top shooters Gretzinger and Kyle Brown - and outmatched inside by Antigo's Mason Gray, the Hodags found themselves down 31-26 off a Javon Bussey free throw with 1:09 remaining. Devon Feck collected an offensive rebound off a missed three and kicked it out to Brown who hit from the right wing to cut the lead to two with 58.5 seconds left.
Rhinelander was called for an offensive foul a short time later but Will Quinn stole an inbound pass in the Antigo backcourt and made a layup with 34.3 seconds left.
Antigo tried to hold for one shot, but the Hodags got a steal with 9.9 seconds remaining. Gretzinger eventually went the length of the floor and was fouled on a driving layup attempt, setting up the game-winning free throw.
"They had fouls to give and we were kind of expecting one and they didn't until it was too late and it was on the shot," Lemmens said.
Antigo got the inbound play ahead for Gus Schuessler, whose desperation game-winning 3-point attempt clanged off the front of the iron as time expired.
Gretzinger finished with a team high 10 points for Rhinelander. Brown had eight and Quinn chipped in seven. The 6-7 Gray had 12 points and 17 rebounds for an Antigo team that did not shoot particularly well, either. The Robins finished just 12-44 (27%) from the field.
Neither team shot well from the foul line, either. Rhinelander was 4 of 12 from the stripe while Antigo went 6 of 18 - including a 3-for-12 effort from Gray.
The 63 combined points were the fewest in a Hodag boys' basketball game since the infamous stall game against Antigo in the 2016 WIAA playoffs that the Robins won 14-11.
"I just commend the guys for not hanging their heads," Lemmens said. "They just kept fighting and that was huge. They just said whatever happens. There were times where we thought it got a little physical and we were on the wrong end of a few calls maybe and guys didn't let their demeanor change. They stayed the course and just kept fighting and good things happened."
The Hodags (7-14, 5-6 Great Northern) were set to learn their tournament fate Sunday afternoon when the WIAA was set to release the brackets for the upcoming Division 2 playoffs.
Rhinelander took on D.C. Everest in a non-conference game Monday that concluded after press time for today's edition and finishes the regular season Thursday on the road at Tomahawk.
Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].
WEATHER SPONSORED BY
E-Editions
Latest News
E-Editions
Events
August
To Submit an Event Sign in first
Today's Events
No calendar events have been scheduled for today.
Comments:
You must login to comment.