Hodag Hoops races past Pines, reclaims share of GNC lead

For about 10 minutes on Friday night, it appeared as though the Rhinelander High School boys’ basketball team was going to get buzz-sawed by another unconscious shooting effort from a middle-of-the-pack Great Northern Conference team. Luckily for the Hodags, unlike the previous Friday night in Antigo, they were able to put out the fire and move back into first place in the GNC in the process.

Evan Shoeder had 13 points and 10 rebounds to lead a balanced Rhinelander attack and the Hodags used a 31-7 run spanning both sides of halftime to defeat Northland Pines 56-38 at the Jim Miazga Community Gymnasium.

That victory, coupled with a stunning 62-59 loss by Medford in Mosinee on Friday put Rhinelander, Medford and Mosinee even in the loss column in the GNC race — with the Hodags and Raiders holding a half-game lead over the Indians. 

Hodag fans were worried after the Eagles (10-8, 4-4 Great Northern) made four of their first five attempts from beyond the arc to take a 20-9 lead with 7:54 left in the first half, but Rhinelander (11-4, 6-2 Great Northern) finally found a groove offensively while holding the Eagles to long possessions that, more often than not, resulted in missed shots or turnovers.

“We’ve got to figure out what it’s going to take to get a little energy early on because we’ve been sluggish starters. That’s going to be an important part of the game moving forward,” Hodag coach Derek Lemmens said. “But, I really like how the guys didn’t get impatient. They just, you know, slowly clawed back and then got the momentum and then ran with it.”

Four Hodags finished in double figures on the night. Devon Feck tied Shoeder with a game-high 13 points including two 3s in a 15-2 run that put Rhinelander ahead 24-22 with 55 seconds left in the first half. The Eagles did not make a field goal over the final 7:53 of the half, but a free throw by Milo Albrecht in the final minute made it 24-23 at halftime. 

The Eagles continued to struggle from the field early in the second half, with one field goal over the first eight minutes of the stanza. Rhinelander made its break there as it opened the second on a 16-3 run to go up 40-27 with 11:04 to play. 

Rhinelander’s defense was the star of the night, holding the Eagles to just 35 shots attempts and 37% shooting while forcing 18 turnovers. 

“I thought to turn a team like that over is good, because that’s a team that is solid with the basketball, and I felt like the guys made them uncomfortable,” Lemmens said. “I felt like our energy defensively, our positioning and our patience, we were really playing position basketball and allowing them to make the mistakes.”

Meanwhile, Rhinelander figured things out offensively after starting the game 2 for 12 from the field. The Hodags were 64% from the field in the second half and shot 45% (23 of 51) overall for the contest. Jatyn Barkus added 12 points for Rhinelander and Truman Lamers added 10 — including a thunderous dunk off a steal with 1:35 to play as part of a closing 8-0 run for the Hodags. 

“The guys really shared the basketball well,” Lemmens said. “I thought our offense, especially in the second half, had really good flow. Guys finished at the rim, guys took good rhythm shots and worked the basketball, so I think offensively that second half was one of our better outings.”

    Rhinelander’s Evan Shoeder drives in for a layup during the first half of a GNC boys’ basketball game at the Jim Miazga Community Gymnasium Friday, Jan. 31. Shoeder had a double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds in Rhinelander’s 56-38 win. (Bob Mainhardt for the River News)
  

Rhinelander also had much more success inside in the second half. Shoeder scored eight points after halftime and sophomore Abe Gretzinger added six points, all after the break. 

“That’s kind of the X-factor right there,” Lemmens said. “Evan is so capable of doing so many things inside and that’s really going to open up our guards. So if he continues to get confident, get aggressive, it’s just going to make every element of our offense that much deadlier.”

Milo Albrecht finished with 13 points for the Eagles while Cody Vojta had 11 points. 

It appeared as though Rhinelander’s win would only allow it to keep pace with the Raiders in the GNC, but then thing changed drastically in Mosinee.

Medford led by as many as 21 points in the second half but the Indians finished the game on a 25-1 run to stun the Raiders by three and blow open the conference race. 

“It makes you makes you really kick yourself for giving a game up, you know, but we still have to take care of business,” Lemmens said. “Not much has changed outside of us being able to, if we do our job and we run the table, we can be up there all by ourselves ... So we got to stay focused and take it one game at a time, but we’re in a nice spot and we’re happy with where we’re at.”

The Hodags hit the road tonight to take on Wausau West in the 11th all-time meeting between Derek Lemmens and his younger brother, Nate. Derek’s Hodags hold a 7-3 series lead over Nate’s Warriors, but Wausau West won last season’s matchup in Rhinelander, and the Warriors (13-4, 6-2) currently sit second in the Wisconsin Valley Conference.

“They’re playing really well,” Derek Lemmens said. “They’re hard to score on. This is going to be a great test for us, it’s really going to be a great opportunity for us to, you know, see what we’re capable of doing. If we can score on them, I feel like we can score on most teams in the state, because right now defensively they’re playing as good as anyone.”

Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].