February 23, 2023 at 7:47 a.m.
Hodag hoops struggles at home vs. Everest
Hodag hoops struggles at home vs. Everest
The end result was another non-conference loss for the Hodags against a Wisconsin Valley Conference foe.
UW-Green Bay recruit Marcus Hall scored 22 points, and the Evergreens shot more than 70% from the field overall as they took care of the Hodags 73-42 at the Jim Miazga Community Gymnasium.
Will Gretzinger scored 20 for the Hodags, all of which came in the second half. Shots finally started to fall for Rhinelander in the second, but it was far too late by that point. Rhinelander shot only 3 of 19 in the first half and trailed 36-6 at the break.
"They made some shots early and, unfortunately, a lot of their shots were very high-percentage, very rhythm, very easy," Hodag coach Derek Lemmens said. "I thought, defensively, we came out very flat, just lacked energy.
Everest scored the first 13 points before the Hodags finally got on the board with a Kyle Brown drive off the right wing with 13:21 remaining in the first half. Everest scored 14 more in a row after that before the Hodags' next bucket, a Jordan LeGere runner with 5:54 before the break.
Everest was 16 of 24 from the field in the opening half.
"Defensively, that's where I'm really disheartened," Lemmens said. "I thought our energy and effort was not there. We've had way too many games where we come out flat and we just get buried right away. I don't know what we need to do in the locker room or what but, we can't do that. Guys got to just have a little more urgency."
It marked Rhinelander's second straight poor offensive night at home. The Hodags shot 24% in a 32-31 win over Antigo last Friday. Rhinelander finished 37% on Monday night, thanks in large part to shooting better than 50% in the second.
Lemmens said while he was concerned about a sputtering offense, the defensive woes have him more concerned late in the regular season.
"Shots are obviously important, but defending and finishing plays, finishing rebounds, that's got to be a primary concern for us and we've got to find ways to get that done," he said.
Rhinelander is hoping to find some more offense this Tuesday when the WIAA playoffs open. The Hodags face a foe that should be good for some offensive success as the Ashland Oredockers come to "the Jim" for a regional quarterfinal game. It's a rematch of a regional quarterfinal game that Rhinelander won 95-91. The Hodags' best offensive output of this season came Dec. 28 at home against the Oredockers when they shot just under 60% in an 85-46 win.
"We were able to turn them over a lot," Lemmens said, looking back at the first contest. "I honestly don't see them struggling with our press the way they did that first time. We're going to have to do things better. As good as we played that game, there were a lot of things we didn't do well, so we've got to work on that."
The winner of that game will get top-seeded Fox Valley Lutheran in a regional semifinal contest March 3.
The Hodags were scheduled to finish the regular season on the road at Tomahawk Thursday. Lemmens said he hopes a sense of desperation will set in for his team prior to the start of the WIAA tournament.
"I think (the Tomahawk game's) important, but I think this stretch of practices that we have prior to (the playoffs) are really what is important," he said. "We've got to make the choice, it's time now. We're at the end of the season. We've been through the grind. It's long, it's challenging but now we've got to just step up and play with everything we've got and we've got to play with some heart."
Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].
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