Hodag Hoops inches away from Crandon in season opener

There was no knockout punch delivered by the Rhinelander High School boys’ basketball team last Tuesday night, but the Hodags delivered enough body blows to wear down Crandon in the regular season opener. 

Truman Lamers scored 23 points to lead four Hodags in double digits and Rhinelander withstood some foul trouble to get past the Cardinals 72-58 at the Jim Miazga Community Gymnasium.

Early on, it appeared the game would be a blowout. Rhinelander used a 16-0 run to go ahead 19-4 less than eight minutes into the game, but the Cardinals hung around. Crandon got to within five points early in the second half before the Hodags answered with runs of 12-5 and 12-3 down the stretch to finally put the game away.

Rhinelander coach Derek Lemmens said the game felt a bit like last year’s 60-37 win at Crandon where the Hodags controlled most of the contest but never quite put the game out of reach until late.

“We just let them keep hanging around. Every time we had a chance to really take control, momentum-wise, we had some kind of mental lapse or Crandon made a play,” he said. “We learned a lot of lessons today and we got a lot of experience. We’ll chalk it up is kind of a sloppy first game.”

    Rhinelander’s Will Gretzinger attempts a 3 during the first half of a non-conference boys’ basketball game against Crandon at the Jim Miazga Community Gymnasium Tuesday, Nov. 21. Gretzinger hit five 3s and scored 19 points in the Hodag win. (Bob Mainhardt for the River News)
  

Will Gretzinger added 19 points, 7 rebounds and 7 assists in the win for Rhinelander. He and Lamers did all the heavy lifting early. Gretzinger hit three 3s while Lamers had 10 points to put Rhinelander up by 15. However, Lamers picked up his second foul with 9:35 left in the half and neither player scored the rest of the stanza. Crandon inched back within six before a pair of free throws by sophomore Jatyn Barkus made it 30-22 Rhinelander at the break.

Omar Bailey and Hayden Gretzinger scored 20 points each for Crandon and were key figures in a 7-2 run that cut Rhinelander’s lead to 44-39 with 12:25 to go. Rhinelander responded with eight of the next 10 points, punctuated by a Lamers dunk off a steal that put Rhinelander up 52-41 with 9:04 remaining. 

Bailey answered with his lone 3-pointer of the night and Hayden Gretzinger got Crandon back within 56-48 with 6:30 left before Rhinelander went on a 12-3 run to go up 68-51 with 2:07 to play. 

Junior Seth Nofftz scored 10 points in his first career start for Rhinelander while sophomore Devon Feck added 10 points off the bench. Both were factors in the second half, combining to score 13 points between them. 

“We have those guys that can take and make shots and we have a lot of guys that can put the ball in the hole,” Lemmens said. “It’s good to see them get those opportunities early in games and get confidence moving forward. We’re going to have to be a team that really shares the ball and shares the wealth.”

Rhinelander was thin and inexperienced in the frontcourt with returning starter James Heck (illness) out of the lineup. The Hodags used a pair of sophomores — Caden Sieker and Evan Shoeder — down low. They combined for seven points and 11 rebounds. 

“Evan and Caden really both did some good things. Offensively, they were playing a little fast, but it’s their first time (on) varsity,” Lemmens said. “This is just a natural progression. They’re going to calm down, settle. They’ll see things a little better. The game will slow down and they’re going be a threat offensively. But I thought overall, defensively, they did a pretty good job protecting the rim and finishing rebounds.”

The Hodags had three starters in foul trouble in the contest. In addition to Lamers, Sieker and point guard Will Quinn each picked up their third fouls less than four minutes into the second half. Crandon dealt with some foul trouble of its own as Hayden Gretzinger picked up his fourth with 12:44 remaining and shooting guard Jaxon Keepers fouled out with 2:24 remaining.

Though part of the issue was a tightly-officiated contest, Lemmens said there are some things his team can clean up, defensively, to stay out of foul trouble.

“They want to make things happen and we just weren’t patient — going for steals and going for blocks. We didn’t play very disciplined basketball. Those are things we can learn from,” he said. “Foul trouble hurt us. Guys see they’re valuable. We have to be intelligent players because if we’re not on the floor, that impacts our game.”

Rhinelander finished the night 39.7% from the floor on 25 of 36 shooting and was 9 of 24 for beyond the arc. Crandon shot 42.8% (21 of 49) but made only three 3-pointers in the contest. 

The game culminated a busy opening week and half for Rhinelander. The team had just five practice days and a scrimmage at Wausau West under its belt before Tuesday’s opener. Rhinelander was off over the Thanksgiving holiday and has full week of practice to prepare for Friday night’s Great Northern Conference opener at home against Antigo.

“We need that time. We knew we had that time built in, so really this first week we kept things really simple,” Lemmens said. “We’re encountering zones, these are things we haven’t spent a lot of time with. So now we have a nice chunk of practice where we can take everything we’re doing to the next step and start building on what we do.”

Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].