January 30, 2023 at 8:00 a.m.
Pines pulls away from Hodag Hoops in second half
Pines pulls away from Hodag Hoops in second half
Gabe Smith led four Eagles in double digits with 21 points and Northland Pines pulled away to a 61-47 victory at the Jim Miazga Community Gymnasium.
The Hodags caught the Eagles on an off shooting night. Northland Pines finished the night just 3 of 21 from beyond the arc. Rhinelander made six 3s in the first half to keep pace and tie the game at 24 at halftime, but the Eagles slowly inched away in the second half as Rhinelander started to cool.
For the Hodags, the game followed a nearly identical script to last Tuesday night's loss at Stevens Point, where the Hodags made six 3s in the first half and trailed the Panthers by two points, only to go cold in the second and eventually lose by 14.
"Offensively, the first half we made some shots. I don't know if it's legs or what but the second half the basket shrunk a little," Hodag coach Derek Lemmens said. "Overall I thought we got good looks, we've just got to knock some down. We had some layups. We missed some really nice opportunities I feel on most nights we'll make."
Rhinelander led by as many as eight in the first half. Will Gretzinger scored 21 for the Hodags, including a 3 that gave Rhinelander a 19-11 lead with 5:21 left in the half. Northland Pines finished the half on a 13-5 run, including a bucket by Griffin Stiemke that tied the game at 24 with 35 seconds before the break.
Stiemke then hit a 3 for the Eagles to start the second half and Northland Pines did not trail the rest of the way.
Rhinelander got to within six, down 50-44, with 2 minutes remaining, but Northland Pines hit 15 straight free throws at one point and made 13 of 14 down the stretch to secure the win.
A taller, more athletic Eagles team controlled the glass, out rebounding Rhinelander 37-18. That included a 15-4 edge on the offensive glass. Pines parlayed that into a 16-0 advantage in second-chance points.
"Overall, we contested a lot of their shots and we made them shoot difficult shots. We did that part. Now we've just got to finish the play," Lemmens said.
Kyle Brown hit five 3s and added 17 points. He and Gretzinger did the bulk of the scoring for Rhinelander as the rest of the team combined for just nine points.
"I thought both of those guys made some really clean looks. Their teammates set some really good screens to get them open at times and, overall, we did OK offensively," Lemmens said. "Our scoring wasn't dispersed very well. We relied a lot on two guys. We just have to have other guys step up a little more."
Rhinelander did not have sixth man Truman Lamers available Friday night after the sophomore injured his knee at practice late last week. It was not immediately known how much time Lamers would miss. He came into Friday's game third on the team averaging 8.4 points per game, and leading the team with 37 free throw attempts on the season.
"He's really brought us, when you talk about offense, he just comes in and he's been able to score," Lemmens said. "He gives us some athleticism -Â especially a presence on the rim from the weak side. That's just again, someone else has to step up. This (dealing with injuries) is now becoming a common thing for us so guys have just got to keep doing it."
Stiemke added 14 for Northland Pines while Ryan Muench had 13. The Eagles shot 41% from the field (18 of 44) while Rhinelander shot just under 40% (17 of 43).
Despite the loss, Lemmens said the result was a far cry better than the first meeting between the teams, which Northland Pines won 68-36 in Eagle River Dec. 9.
"They owned us at their place. We didn't come out ready. We came out intimidated," he said. "I'm really excited about what I saw tonight, especially in terms of energy and grittiness. I thought we were tough. We didn't stand down, but at the end, they made the plays and we didn't. We can live with that. We can't live with the lack of effort or kind of folding like we did in Game 1.
The Hodags traveled to GNC-leading Medford Monday night for a game that concluded after deadline and will play at Mosinee this coming Thursday. Prior to Friday night's contest, Lemmens said the team has canceled its scheduled trip to Lake Forest, Ill. Feb. 4 where they were slated to play Fremd (Palatine, Ill.) High School.
Editor's note: An independent review of game footage by the River News after the game confirmed a discrepancy in the final score. The scoreboard operator mistakenly awarded Rhinelander a point on a made free throw by Northland Pines' Ryan Muench with 6:18 remaining. Though the error was spotted, and Pines was later correctly awarded a point, the extra point for Rhinelander was never taken off the scoreboard. Subsequently, Rhinelander's James Heck was awarded a free throw in the official scorebook for a foul shot that he missed with 6:41 remaining. The River News is reporting the final score as 61-47, as that score was reported on the scoreboard and in the official scorebook, but is noting that the final score should have been 61-46. The River News' total was corroborated by an automated review of the game film provided by Hudl, which processes footage and provides statistics for the RHS boys' basketball team.
Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].
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