Hodag Hoops beats Lakeland, eyes title fight with Mosinee

The Rhinelander High School boys’ basketball team once again enters the final game of the regular season with a chance to win at least a share of the Great Northern Conference title.

The Hodags got there with a 72-48 win over Lakeland Friday night at the Jim Miazga Community Gymnasium. Abe Gretzinger scored 19 points to lead four Hodags in double figures while Evan Shoeder added 14 points and 11 rebounds. 

Rhinelander took control with a 15-0 run in the first half and cruised as they moved to 12-1 in the GNC, a game behind Mosinee, which clinched a share of the conference title with a win over Tomahawk on Friday.

Rhinelander travels to Mosinee Thursday and can split the conference title with a win.

“This was really important because not only does it just keep us alive for that showdown in Mosinee … I think this was huge to protect our home court and to do it convincingly. It wasn’t a big explosion, but we just slowly ground away,” Hodag coach Derek Lemmens said. 

Jackson Burnett scored 19 for Lakeland, and the T-Birds hit three early 3s as they took a 16-12 lead. But Rhinelander was strong inside in the contest. Gretzinger and Shoeder combined for 22 points in the first half alone, the Hodags ended the night 56% from the field (27 of 48) and held a 34-18 edge on the glass. 

“We knew the size we had to win the inside battle, and they did a great job in the first half of really establishing that. Then they have to overcompensate, and that’s when it opens up the perimeter a little more in the second,” Lemmens said. 

    Rhinelander’s Caden Sieker, right, hugs teammate Abe Gretzinger as Sieker subs out of a GNC boys’ basketball game at the Jim Miazga Community Gymnasium Friday, Feb. 20. Sieker, who has been unable to play the last two seasons due to shoulder injuries, got a ceremonial start Friday night. (Bob Mainhardt for the River News)
  

The Hodags honored their four seniors prior to the game, including Caden Sieker, who has been sidelined by shoulder injuries the last two seasons. The senior got a ceremonial start on Friday, drew a quick foul and headed to the bench with a standing ovation.

“When you look at that physical presence on the court, it’s very sad to think for the last two years we’ve missed out on that. That’s definitely something, an ingredient that’s been missing from us,” Lemmens said. “He’s just going to go in the lane. He’s going to knock bodies around. He probably would have fouled out most games, but he would have set a tone. He would have given us the level of toughness that we sometimes are missing. At the end of the day, you hate to see great kids like that not have the opportunity of their junior and senior years. So the fact that he could step on the court, even for that moment, that was special.”

Devon Feck finished with 13 points for Rhinelander and put the Hodags up for good on a 3 from the right win with 7:47 left in the half. That was part of a spurt that gave the Hodags a 27-16 lead and Rhinelander took a 32-24 lead to the. Great. 

Rhinelander scored the first five points of the second half, and Lakeland never got the lead back to single digits. Rowan Wiczek added 12 points for the Hodags, and Jatyn Barkus finished with eight as the Hodags shared the ball well again. 

“That’s just a testament to this team and their unselfishness and how guys, take their opportunities and they take advantage of their chances,” Lemmens said. “We’ve got a lot of guys that can do things. And when you look at the way Devon’s been scoring and the things that he’s been doing, the reason teams don’t just try and take him out of the game is when you take him out of the equation, someone new pops.”

Deklan McQuade added eight points for Lakeland as the T-Birds finished the night 33% from the field (14 of 42). 

Mosinee rematch

Rhinelander plays for at least a share of the GNC title in the final game of the regular season for a third straight year Thursday as it takes on Mosinee on the road. 

The Hodags are looking to atone for a 75-61 loss to Mosinee in Rhinelander back on Jan. 16. The Indians had five players in double figures that night and had a 18-point advantage from the foul line. 

“Our defense the first time was, let’s just say what it was, it was awful. We were lost, our heads were turning,” Lemmens said. “It wasn’t even their primary guys. Our role players did not guard their role players. We are out of position, and it was a real wake-up call. We’ve got to be better, do our job off of the basketball and help support while not giving your guy easy looks. Mosinee has a lot of guys that can do things offensively, but we know we can match that. We have to go out and do it.”

Mosinee stuck around the Jim long after that game following that win, taking pictures on the Hodag logo at mid-court. Asked if that gives Rhinelander an extra motivation for Thursday’s rematch, Lemmens had a one-word response, “Plenty.”

“That’s what they wanted to do. So now it’s our job to get it back and show them that we didn’t appreciate it,” he added.

Feck scored 24 points for the Hodags in the first meeting while Gretzinger had 15. Brayden Reinke had 16 points and Treve Stoffel had 14 for Mosinee. 

The tipoff is set for 7:15 Thursday in Mosinee. 

Playoffs ahead

The WIAA playoff bracket was revealed Sunday morning. The Hodags drew a two-seed and a first-round bye. They will play either Wausau East or Antigo in a D2 regional semifinal game Friday, March 6 at the Miazga Gym.

The Hodags (20-3) were hoping to get an even higher seed when they hosted River Falls in a non-conference contest on Saturday, but squandered a 14-point second-half lead and fell to the Wildcats 70-69 in overtime of that contest. Feck made nine 3-pointers and scored a career-high 32 points in the defeat.

A full recap of that game, plus reaction to the Hodags’ playoff draw, will be published in Friday’s River News.  

Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].