Hodag Hoops puts clamps on Shawano in home win

While the Rhinelander High School boys’ basketball team did not have its best stuff on the offensive side Tuesday night it more than made up for it on the defensive end of the floor. 

The Hodags forced 21 turnovers and limited Shawano to 31 shots attempts as they beat the Hawks 49-34 in a non-conference contest at the Jim Miazga Community Gymnasium.

Judging from Shawano’s regular season stats, it seemed as though it should have been the other way around. Despite a 5-13 record, Shawano came in averaging more than 57 points per game but was allowing nearly 66 1/2 a game. 

Rhinelander controlled tempo, however, and limited Shawano’s possessions. Though the Hawks shot 41% from the floor, they attempted 19 fewer shots than the Hodags on the night. 

“Defensively, I think this was our best effort of the season,” Hodag coach Derek Lemmens said. “(We were) active, just on the same page, communicating, being aggressive, while also being smart. It was good because our offense was just never really clicking and when we got really going, I felt like we missed some really nice opportunities. So we left a lot of points and that defense allowed us to have that kind of offensive game.”

Rhinelander (13-5, 7-2 Great Northern) stumbled out of the gate, spotting the Hawks a 9-2 lead over the first four minutes. But Rhinelander answered with a 9-0 run and took the lead on a Hayden Schommer basket with 7:19 left in the half. The Hodags didn’t trail the remainder of the contest. 

“I thought they made some tough shots. We got some weird bad breaks in those first possessions, but they didn’t seem to waver at all,” Lemmens said. “You didn’t see them getting upset or losing their focus. So it was a really nice to see us respond when a little adversity happened at the beginning.”

Rhinelander finished the half on a 4-0 run over the final 30 seconds to take a 23-17 lead at the break. A battle for a rebound fell right into Abe Gretzinger’s arms for a putback finish and then Truman Lamers recorded a steal that led to a slam dunk in transition with less than 10 seconds before halftime.

That momentum carried into the second half as the Hodags opened the stanza on a 16-4 run that pushed the lead to 18 with 9:24 remaining. 

“Those types of plays, you know, with the momentum factor, you just can’t really explain how important they are, but that’s why just continuing to be ready so when those opportunities arise, you can take advantage of them and then change the game,” Lemmens said. 

    Rhinelander’s Devon Feck puts up a shot between Shawano’s defenders during the second half of a non-conference boys’ basketball game at the Jim Miazga Community Gymnasium Tuesday, Feb. 11. (Bob Mainhardt for the River News)
  

The Hodags had a balanced scorebook as they shot 46% (23 of 50) from the field, despite going only 2 of 12 from deep. Devon Feck and Evan Shoeder each scored 11 points while Gretzinger chipped in eight off the bench. 

“We were very patient. I think we were 2 for 12 from 3, so we again, we didn’t shoot it well, but I thought they were good shots. So, we’ll continue to hunt those down,” Lemmens said. “We’re a good shooting team. We have to get back to that, but while we’re in that transition, when shots aren’t falling, knowing that we got the inside touches and can continue to attack, that’s important.”

Senior Logan Sipple, who has committed to Division-II Bemidji (Minn.) State, had 17 points for Shawano to lead all scorers. 

Rhinelander dropped back into a first-place tie in the GNC as Medford routed Antigo at home 81-55 on Tuesday. Mosinee moved within a half game of the conference lead after defeating Northland Pines 69-37.

The Hodags will play Mosinee and Medford in the last two conference games, which will likely determine the GNC title. However, Rhinelander cannot afford a slip-up tonight at Lakeland in the second half of a girls-boys doubleheader. 

“We need to be focused. You know, we went to Antigo and we thought it was just going to happen, so that was our wake up call in the season, knowing that it doesn’t just happen,” Lemmens said. “You have to show up, you have to do all the little details and then when you’re executing, that’s when things happen. So we’ve got to come out and be focused.”

Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].