HALL YEAH!

MEDFORD — The Rhinelander High School boys’ basketball team went through a tenuous stretch during the second half Thursday in its biggest game of the season. Shots weren’t falling, calls weren’t going the Hodags’ way and what was once a double-digit lead was evaporating. 

In that moment, with a conference championship on the line, the Hodags relied on the one thing that has been a constant during the final five weeks of the regular season — defense. 

The Hodags held the Medford to 33% from the field and held on down the stretch to win 51-43 at Raider Hall, securing the team’s second straight Great Northern Conference title.

    Rhinelander’s Abe Gretzinger is fouled on a putback attempt during the first half of a GNC boys’ basketball game at Medford Thursday, Feb. 27. Gretzinger had 15 points and 11 rebounds off the bench in the Hodags’ 51-43 win. (Bob Mainhardt for the River News)
  

Senior Truman Lamers led all scorers with 18 points, while sophomore Abe Gretzinger added a double-double off the bench with 15 points and 11 rebounds but, ultimately, the Hodags (18-5, 10-2 Great Northern) relied on their defense in the winner-take-all title bout against the Raiders (13-10, 9-3). 

“There’s no feeling quite like it,” Lamers said afterward. “I know last year we had the shared (championship), it was just not the same. We wanted to get one by ourselves and have no doubt about it.”

Rhinelander went up 39-27 on a Gretzinger finish in the post with 12:30 to play, but did not make another field goal until a layup by senior Seth Nofftz with 3:45 left. The Raiders only managed to outscore Rhinelander 9-2 during that prolonged swoon as the Hodag defense kept Medford, and a boisterous Raider Hall crowd, at bay.

“Defense is going to win us our games,” Nofftz said. “Our offense hasn’t been the strongest this year, and, you know, we’re looking to improve that, but from what we know, we can play defense and we can guard guys. That’s what it takes. We’re winning games, so just get that offense going and we’re going to go far.” 

After back-to-back losses to Medford and Antigo midway through the conference season, the Hodags found themselves in a position where they needed to run the table over their final five conference games to claim their seventh GNC title, and 25th overall conference title in program history. Rhinelander did that and won nine of its last 10 games overall to close out the regular season — including seven in a row entering the WIAA tournament. 

“It’s a great feeling. Toward the start of the second half of this conference, we kind of stumbled a little bit and I think the way that they responded to that adversity and that stumble is the reason that we are what we are able to be right now,” Hodag coach Derek Lemmens said. “They finished strong because they realized, you know, we can’t just go out and win. We’ve got to fight and they’ve established that fighter mentality.”

Rhinelander controlled the paint and kept Medford’s outside shooters at bay. The Raiders finished the night only 7 of 26 from distance after shooting 10 of 26 in a 71-63 victory over the Hodags Jan. 17 in Rhinelander. 

Charlie Gierl had 32 points and 13 rebounds in that game but was held in check Thursday night, scoring just 12 on 5 of 17 shooting. Nick Krause and Hayden Koester each scored 11 for the Raiders, but the trio finished a combined 14 of 39 from the field. Meanwhile Jason Woller, who scored 12 off the bench in the Medford’s win at Rhinelander, was held scoreless in the rematch. 

“Every shot that they made for the most part was challenged,” Lemmens said. “It was difficult. The guys executed. This is not an easy team to stop. I think Medford runs the best offense in the area. So for them to disrupt it and challenge it the way they did, that’s something they can be really proud of.”

Rhinelander owned a 41-18 edge on the glass and Gretzinger made an early impact off the bench. His first bucket of the night capped off a 9-0 run that put the Hodags ahead for good, up 11-5 midway through the first half. After Medford got back to within three, Gretzinger started a 10-2 run for the Hodags to close out the half. Lamers did plenty too, getting a dunk off a steal followed by a 3 on the next possession put Rhinelander up 25-15. He added a 3-point play with 1:32 left in the half as the Hodags took a 28-17 lead to the break. 

Lamers and Gretzinger combined for 24 first-half points for Rhinelander. 

“We were really hoping our bigs just owned the paint and felt like we had the size,” Lemmens said. “We figured, you know, establishing that inside was going be important, and Abe just came in and played like an animal.”

Lamers added another dunk — his 23rd of the season — off a steal on the opening possession of the second half to put Rhinelander up 13. That proved to be the Hodags’ largest lead of the game as the teams traded buckets over the first 5 1/2 minutes of the second. 

Gierl answered with a 3 and Koester scored a layup off a steal to cut Rhinelander’s lead down to 39-32 with 11:05 left, but the Hodag defense held steady from there. The Raiders made only two field goals over the following 10 minutes and the closest they got was 41-36 on a layup by Gierl with 6:30 remaining. 

“We continue to be inconsistent on offense and we’re going to get there,” Lemmens said. “I just feel good about the direction we’re heading, but again, that grittiness, that defense, the hard-nosed mentality that they’re bringing allows you to overcome those types of things.” 

Nofftz and junior Devon Feck, still hobbled by a sore knee, each scored seven points as the Hodags finished the night 45% from the floor (19 of 42).

It was a bit of deja vu for Medford, which lost to Rhinelander 50-45 last February in a battle to the share of that season’s conference title with Mosinee. In that game Will Gretzinger, Abe’s older brother, went off for 17 second-half points to help the Hodags fend off the Raiders. 

It’s a different year, and a different Gretzinger, but the end result for Rhinelander was still the same. 

“It feels great. We just play are all playing our role. People find me and I just kind of put the ball up and hope it goes in,” Abe Gretzinger said. 

The victory marked Rhinelander’s first at Raider Hall since 2018. Medford upset Rhinelander in the overtime in the WIAA tournament that year, launching its run of success. The Raiders were seeking their fourth conference title in six years but were denied by Rhinelander in the final game of the regular season for a second year in a row. 

“Losing to them at home earlier in the season, it was like tough roadblock, but being able to come back and get this one then and it’s crazy. Feels awesome,” Lamers said.

The Hodags await the winner of tonight’s Rice Lake-Lakeland contest for a matchup this coming Friday night at the Jim Miazga Community Gymnasium to open the WIAA tournament. Rhinelander is the No. 2 seed in its regional draw and, with a victory, would host a regional final game on Saturday.

The Hodags are seeking their first trip to the sectional round of the WIAA tournament since 2022. 

“Everything’s a fight from this point on, so these types of games that’s the type of atmosphere and experience is what we need to prepare for,” Lemmens said. 

Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected]. 

    The Rhinelander High School boys’ basketball team poses with the Great Northern Conference championship trophy after defeating Medford 51-43 in Medford Thursday, Feb. 27. Pictured, from left to right, are head coach Derek Lemmens, Greyson Gremban, Dominic Lehmann, Jackson Weinzatl, Rowan Wizcek, coach Kurt Zalewski, Abe Gretzinger, Seth Nofftz, Evan Shoeder, Jatyn Barkus, Caden Sieker, Devon Feck, Truman Lamers, Dylan Hopfensperger, Myles Eagleson, Hayden Schommer, coach Chad Bolkema, coach Nick Karaba and coach Brandon Karaba. (Bob Mainhardt for the River News)