Raiders go cold, Hodags take advantage and pull off upset

MEDFORD BOYS BASKETBALL

The Medford Raiders faced their first down-to-the-wire finish of the 2021-22 season Tuesday and it didn’t end well for them in a 55-49 upset loss at Rhinelander.

By outscoring the Raiders 26-9 in the last nine minutes, the Hodags put an abrupt end to Medford’s 29-game Great Northern Conference winning streak that dated back to the end of the 2018-19 season.

While Medford head coach Ryan Brown saw several little things that contributed to the loss, the easy culprit to pick out was some ice-cold shooting, particularly in the second half, that left the door open for Rhinelander to take its first lead in the game, 43-42, on a Jacksen Smith bank shot from the right side with 3:15 left. With the home crowd sensing the upset, the Hodags then rode backto- back 3-pointers from Will Gretzinger, who hadn’t scored before that, and solid free throw shooting to secure the win.

“Despite our average to below-average shooting at times, we only had 10 turnovers and they had 25,” Brown said. “We were basically even in offensive rebounding, I think they had two more (119) and we took 13 more shots. Most of the time, when you have numbers like that, particularly in a game where you don’t shoot it well, it’s enough to push you to a win.

“But we know it’s always tough in Rhinelander,” Brown added. “It’s like some of those places in the Big Ten where every game is a battle. It doesn’t matter who’s doing well. Both teams know each other so well. They’re well coached, it’s a tough environment. Even when we’ve won up there the last few years, they’ve always made that run in the second half. Fortunately in those games we were able to respond.”

This time, the Raiders seemed to have control when they held a 40-29 lead with nine minutes to play following an offensive putback from Charlie Kleist, who added to his recent string of solid games off the bench with five points and three rebounds. Possibly one stop and score away from delivering the knockout punch, the Raiders instead gave up an open 3-pointer to Ryan Jamison, an inbound lob to Caleb Olcikas and free throws to Jackson Zettler that cut it to 4036 with 6:48 to play and that’s where the belief built for the Hodags, who are now 1-1 in the GNC and 4-4 overall.

The Raiders hit just two of 18 3-point shots and were five of 25 overall from the field in the half. For the game, they shot just 29.1% from the field (16 of 55) and the 3-point accuracy that had been so good for three weeks left them (seven of 32).

For the most part, Brown said the shots Medford took were good ones, but the lesson to be learned was that when the 3s aren’t falling, yet you have the lead, that might be the time to be patient and look to grind down defenses and get great shots.

Defensively, Brown was impressed with Medford’s efforts early. Rhinelander hit just seven of 23 shots from the field in the first half and turned the ball over 14 times as the Raiders built a 29-19 halftime lead. Medford scored the game’s first seven points, Rhinelander closed the gap to 15-13 and then the Raiders went on a 14-4 run, highlighted by 3s from Logan Baumgartner and Sam Blair and offensive putbacks from Tanner Hraby and Brigham Kelley.

Small breakdowns, however, led to key buckets for Rhinelander in the second half.

“We missed some opportunities and those little things added up,” Brown said.

After the Hodags grabbed the lead, Hraby’s 3-pointer with 2:18 left got Medford within 46-45, but Gretzinger drilled a huge triple with 1:18 left following a Raider turnover. Baumgartner’s 3-point try rattled in and out and Smith hit one of two bonus throws to put the Hodags up 50-45 with 44.2 seconds left. Joe Sullivan made it a one-possession game twice at 50-47 and 52-49 with free throws, but the Raiders got no closer in the final seconds.

“In the last three or four games, we’ve made at least 10 3-pointers,” Brown said. “We’ve shot it very well. (Tuesday) we maybe pressed a little bit.”

Working around some foul trouble, Sullivan led Medford with 16 points, Hraby added 11 and Baumgartner had a tough night with just two made field goals and 10 points. Kelley added four points and Blair had three. Kelley had a teamhigh six rebounds, while Baumgartner had five and a team-high four assists. He also had four steals.

Smith led Rhinelander with 19 points, while Zettler did some damage inside with 13.

Unfortunately, Friday’s home show- down with Northland Pines has been postponed, leaving the Raiders with a week to stew over the loss while preparing for a trip to Mosinee on Tuesday. The Indians now hold the early lead in the GNC at 2-0, 7-1. After that, Medford heads to La Crosse Central for a Jan. 15 matchup with Division 2’s third-ranked team.