January 24, 2023 at 8:14 a.m.
Hurting Hodags fall again
RHS falls behind early, falls to West 68-47
Hurting Hodags fall again
The Hodags were undermanned and outmatched Friday night. Brett Butalla had 18 points to lead three Warriors in double figures as Wausau West raced by Rhinelander 68-47.
Once again, Rhinelander (5-8, 3-2 Great Northern) was down several players on Friday, adding senior starter Kyle Brown (back) to a list that already included Jordan LeGere, Max Ratty and Seth Nofftz. Freshman Devon Feck played only one half in the JV game just so the Hodags could have a seventh man in their rotation to start the game.
The players the Hodags had left struggled to keep up, especially in the first half.
"We were just completely outmatched, physically, and outworked on top of it," Hodag coach Derek Lemmens said. "I just don't think we had the commitment to finishing the play that we need in order to overcome our lack of size. They just pursued the basketball aggressively and we really just kind of folded."
The Warriors, coached by Derek's younger brother and RHS alum Nate Lemmens, took control with an extended 29-5 run in the first half and didn't look back, leading by as many as 24 in the first half before taking an 41-23 advantage to the break.
Rhinelander cut the lead to 10, down 49-39 on a Will Gretzinger 3 with 9:47 remaining, but West went on a 19-5 run from there to ice it.
Wausau West (4-10, 1-5 Wis. Valley) shot 17 of 28 in the first half as it opened up an 18-point lead.
"The first half especially, we were reactive in everything we did," Derek Lemmens said. "We didn't have great positioning, weren't winning the one-on-one battles and really just gave up way too many points. Our defense was disappointing."
Rebounding, especially offensive rebounding, became a story in the second half. Despite not having a player taller than 6-3 on the roster, West held a 32-16 edge on the glass and gobbled up 13 offensive rebounds in the contest. That helped lead to 10 second-chance points and a 38-14 advantage in points in the paint.
"We get a couple of rebounds and finish a few plays, and who knows what happens once we got that game to (10)," Derek Lemmens said. "But we couldn't finish plays tonight and that's what happens."
Truman Lamers scored 15 points off the bench for Rhinelander and Gretzinger added 14. The Hodags shot 45% from the field, marking the first time this season Rhinelander has lost when shooting better than 40%. Part of that was due to West's fast, aggressive defense that forced 18 Rhinelander turnovers and limited the Hodags to only 40 shot attempts in the game.
"We've done a great job of taking care of the basketball the last six, seven games and tonight we had 18 (turnovers). Their pressure was a reason for it. I didn't think, offensively, we made great reads early on an we were not countering their aggressiveness very well," Derek Lemmens said. "I thought they did a better job in the second half, but we've got to get used to playing aggressive Ds. We're going to face a lot of them moving forward here. This was a great opportunity for guys to kind of see it and see what works to counter it. Now we've got to do that earlier."
Lemmens also said the Hodags struggled to fill the void left by Brown, who came in averaging just under 10 points per game and is second in made 3-pointers on the squad.
"We've got a lot of guys that just don't want the ball, unfortunately," he said. "They've got to take a step forward otherwise other guys are going to step in. Devon Feck shows that he's not afraid to take shots. Some of these guys that are really passive offensively, they either have to find ways to get those guys shots or they've got to start becoming something. We really can't rely on just two guys making things happens."
Cole Nelson added 16 points for Wausau West while Griffin Lange chipped in 12. The Warriors beat Rhinelander for the first time since 2015. Nate Lemmens improved to 2-7 lifetime against his older brother.
Prior to the game, Derek Lemmens share his appreciation for his brother and coaching colleague.
"It's nice not having conference or anything like that on the line but, at the end of the day, it's another game," he said. "It's just against someone that I have a great relationship with and we've learned a lot from each other. It's not just my brother off of the court, but really in coaching. We do a lot of things the same and really pick each others brains and we learn from each other. I like to think I mentor him and he mentors me. So to go up against each other is always a great experience."
The road does not get easier from here for Rhinelander. The Hodags will close out a three-game tour of the Wisconsin Valley Conference tonight at Stevens Point and will then face the top three in the GNC - Northland Pines, Medford and Mosinee - all in succession beginning this coming Friday.
"This is going to be a tough stretch. We're going to be challenged and we have to get better," Derek Lemmens said. "Hopefully, now Mother Nature behaves and we can get some practices in. We can start working on some things we need to work on and we can get healthy on top of it and be playing our best basketball when it matters."
Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].
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