Memorable milestone

Coach Derek Lemmens has been a stickler for the small details in his time leading the Rhinelander High School boys’ basketball team. It seemed only fitting that the Hodags executed the little things down the stretch Tuesday night to help him secure a milestone victory.

Seth Nofftz scored the go-ahead layup with 7 seconds remaining as the Hodags rallied to defeat the Wittenberg-Birnamwood Chargers 63-59 at the Jim Miazga Community Gymnasium. It marked the 200th career victory for Lemmens, who is in his 15th season coaching at his alma mater.

In addition to scoring 20 points, Truman Lamers made an extra skip pass in the lane to find Nofftz for the go-ahead score and then drew an offensive foul against Wittenberg’s Jett Rogowski at half court with 2 seconds left to help secure the win. 

Lamers said he and his teammates didn’t realize Lemmens was approaching the milestone until after the game.

“He doesn’t ever tell us his accomplishments, so yeah, we’ll go celebrate with him and make sure he, you know, he’s appreciated,” he said. 

    Rhinelander High School boys’ basketball coach Derek Lemmens discusses a play with his team during timeout late in the second half of a non-conference game against Wittenberg-Birnamwood at the Jim Miazga Community Gymnasium Tuesday, Dec. 10. Lemmens notched his 200th career varsity victory Tuesday as the Hodags won, 63-59. (Bob Mainhardt for the River News)
  

There wasn’t a big celebration of the accomplishment afterward as Lemmens has preferred to keep the focus on his players. RHS activities director Brian Paulson said his department is planning a small ceremony to recognize the accomplishment prior to the Hodags’ home game against Tomahawk next Friday. Hodag hoops alumni are encouraged to attend.

“It was a great night for basketball and, again, we’re just so fortunate to have had such wonderful kids,” Lemmens said afterward. “I’ve always had amazing coaches with me, so it’s just been a special place to be. And like I said, I hope there’s a lot more (wins) to go.” 

The Hodags had to fight off a physical Charger squad led by Rogowski, a play-making guard who scored a game-high 28 points. That included an off-balance 3 off the left wing that tied the game at 59 with 25 seconds remaining. 

Lemmens left his one remaining timeout in his pocket as the Hodags brought the ball up the court for the potential game winner. Lamers drove in from the top of the lane and, as a double team closed in on him, he skipped it off to Nofftz — whose man had left him to help against Lamers.

“I was actually in the wrong spot and I see Truman coming down the lane,” Nofftz said. “So I know I’ve got to make a back cut there and he saw me. We’ve always had some connection on the court, so it’s good to see it pay off.”

Lemmens said he trusted his team to make the right play down the stretch.

“I don’t like to give the other team time to think about it,” he said regarding not using his timeout. “You know, we’ve got a veteran group, so it was nice to just let them play basketball and let it play out. They made a great read, great action and it paid off. So it’s nice to have a crew like this that can just play basketball and be aware of the clock.” 

Rogowski plowed into Lamers at the timeline as, in desperation, he tried to rush ahead for a potential tying or winning basket before the horn. The Chargers were assessed a bench technical after head coach Garrett Rogowski demonstratively disputed the call. Devon Feck knocked down both technical free throws to effectively ice the game. 

The Hodags had their hands full from the start against a physical Charger team, which opened the game on a 16-5 run and took a 31-25 lead to the break. 

An off night from the outside did not help the Hodags. They finished the night 2 of 17 from beyond the arc, but managed to find other ways to stay in the game.

“I liked how they just stayed with it,” Lemmens said. “We got we got the ball inside. We got to the free throw line. We were attacking. I said, in a season, you’re not going to play great basketball all the time. It’d be nice to, but you’re not. So when you’re not playing good basketball to find a way to still win against a good team. That’s important.”

While the Hodags have played man-to-man in the defensive half court much of the season, they jumped into a 1-3-1 zone with success late in the first half and into the second. Back-to-back baskets off turnovers by Abe Gretzinger and Rowan Wiczek capped off a 14-3 Hodag run and gave Rhinelander its first lead of the night, up 44-42 with 10:02 remaining.

The Hodags forced 16 turnovers in the contest and made an effort to make players other than Rogowski handle the ball in the second half.

“We knew that that defense could be a weapon for us,” Lemmens said. “It was nice to see it really in action. We haven’t busted it out very frequently. So I thought the guys did a great job. They just dictated tempo and they were in attack mode. It led to some nice baskets, and that gave us some momentum.”

Wittenberg answered with an 11-3 run to move ahead 53-47 with 5:24 to play and still led 56-51 off a Jaden Clark 3 with 3:33 remaining. The Hodags answered with eight straight points, including a layup by Lamers to go ahead 57-56 with 1:35 to play. Jatyn Barkus added two free throws with 1 minute to play to make it a three-point lead.

Feck finished with 11 points for Rhinelander. Gretzinger had 10 and Barkus scored a career-high nine points, all in the second half, as the Hodags continued to show a balanced offensive attack. Despite the struggles from beyond the arc, the Hodags still managed to shoot 48% (23 of 48) on the night.

“I liked what guys did and we had the ability to share the basketball and a lot of guys can chip in,” Lemmens said. “So it’s great when shots aren’t falling that we have a crew that isn’t forcing and just continues to share and use each other.” 

Oliver Fraaza had 11 points and eight rebounds for the Chargers while Zandyr Barke added 10 points before fouling out of the game with one minute remaining. Wittenberg finished the night 52% from the field on 22 of 42 shooting.

Rhinelander (3-0, 1-0 Great Northern) travels to Northland Pines tonight. The Eagles are off to a solid 5-1 start that included a 16-point home win over Merrill on Tuesday. 

“We’re going to go on and we’re going to have to play a really good conference team,” Lemmens said. “I’m glad we had a game like this to kind of have these situations and get ready for it.”

Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].