Hodag Hoops fends off Pines 47-40

The Rhinelander High School boys’ basketball team survived another tough battle from Northland Pines on Friday night. 

Devon Feck scored a game-high 19 points, Rowan Wiczek added 10 and the Hodags held off Northland Pines 47-40 in a GNC contest in Eagle River.

Rhinelander (16-2, 9-1 Great Northern) kept pace with Mosinee as it sits a game behind the Indians in the GNC race entering the final quarter of the season. It wasn’t without a fight from the Eagles (11-7, 5-5 Great Northern) who got 18 points from Mylo Albrecht and were on the Hodags’ heels virtually the entire second half.

“It was physical, and we couldn’t pull away,” Hodag coach Derek Lemmens said. “We had a lot of good things, but we got a lot of things we can work on too.”

Rhinelander led by 10 early in the second half, but Pines trimmed the lead to a single possession on three separate occasions, the last time off an Ethan Miller finish in the paint that made it 36-34 with 6:28 remaining. 

Wiczek answered with a 3 on the other end, and Abe Gretzinger later scored in transition off a steal by Feck to make it 41-34 with 4:05 remaining. Pines got it back to five on a Jack Albrecht drive on the next possession, but Evan Shoeder answered with a post finish, and Feck made both ends of a 1-and-1 to make it 45-36 with 2:29 to play. 

“Guys made some timely plays. Evan and Abe and Devon, and Rowan and hit a huge 3. They stepped up and made a big basket when we needed one, and we just didn’t allow them to get over the hump,” Lemmens said. “Guys made big plays down the stretch.”

Mylo Albrecht came into the night third in the GNC, averaging 19.6 points per game, and though he scored 18, he needed a high volume of shots to get there. The Hodags held him to 7 of 20 from the field. 

Rhinelander started the night in man-to-man, but circumstances quickly dictated a switch to a 1-3-1 zone. Senior Jatyn Barkus started, but left the game in the first half as he reaggravated a back injury he sustained in a Feb. 3 win over Wisconsin Rapids. Wiczek drew the assignment on Mylo Albrecht, but picked up his second foul less than three minutes into the contest.

The pace slowed as the Eagles were deliberate against the Hodags’ zone. Pines finished the night shooting just under 33% from the field while attempting only 46 shots. 

“It really did slow them. It forced them to kind of draw it out and it helped us keep eyes on Mylo. I thought in the first half we had some lapses, but in second half, not so much,” Lemmens said. “Jay wanted to give it a run, and it was clear early on that he just couldn’t do it. His back, he needs the rest. So we’re down a starter and then we had foul trouble and a lot of guys had to step up and get minutes they’re not used to. I thought they did a great job.”

    Rhinelander’s Conner Rappley goes up for a basket during the first half of a GNC boys’ basketball game against Northland Pines in Eagle River Friday, Feb. 6. (Bob Mainhardt for the River News)
  

After a slow start, the Hodags took the lead on a Conner Rappley finish with 10:57 left in the first half and went up for good on another Rappley bucket that made it 11-9 with 7:34 remaining. Rhinelander got the lead to 10 as Feck made a trio of free throws with 1:26 remaining and eventually took a 26-18 lead to halftime. 

Feck scored 15 points in the first half and finished the night eight points shy of 1,000 for his career.

“Devon in the first half offensively was just outstanding, making very difficult shots,” Lemmens said. “You can’t stop him when he’s playing like that. Yet he still is so disciplined in the second half to not be forcing stuff and letting things happen. It was really good to see.”

Feck made it 30-20 on a turnaround jumper with 15:40 to play before Mylo Albrecht went on a personal 7-0 run to cut the lead to three. Shoeder made a pair of free throws, and Wiczek scored in transition off a steal to make it 34-27 with 11:34 to play. Mylo Albrecht hit a 3 — which ended up being his final bucket of the night — with 9:53 left, and Miller finished inside to make it 34-32 with 7:59 to play. 

The Hodags shot 49% (17 of 35) on the night. Shoeder added eight points and five rebounds while Gretzinger had six points in the Hodags’ lowest scoring effort since a 49-33 loss at Wittenberg-Birnamwood Dec. 9.

The win continued to bolster an already solid postseason résumé for the Hodags. On Friday, the WIAA released its mid-season seeding for the upcoming tournament. If the playoffs started today, the Hodags would be the third seed in their 10-team regional and open the playoffs with a rematch at home against Wausau East. Big Rivers Conference schools River Falls (13-5) and Menomonie (12-5) sit ahead of the Hodags in the projected rankings. Rhinelander will host River Falls Feb. 21, the day before the final playoff brackets are announced. 

“We got to get some more wins. Tonight’s win will help us with Pines being above .500. That win’s going to help us, but I think we should be looking at that 2 to 3 (seed),” Lemmens said. “If we do really good things, we beat River Falls when they come to us, there’s a chance for that (one seed). But otherwise 2 or 3 is kind of what we’re shooting for.”

Rhinelander travels to Tomahawk tonight, playing the front end of a boys/girls doubleheader. Tipoff is set for 6 p.m.

Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].