Hodag Highlights: Boys basketball

The Hodag boys basketball team played two home games last week. On Tuesday, Feb. 18, a nonconference game was played against Northern Lakes conference foe Laona-Wabeno. The Hodags started with all the seniors suited up on Senior Night, who all scored at least two points in the game. Junior Evan Shoeder scored 18 points, while seniors Truman Lamers and Jatyn Barkus scored 14. The Hodags led at the half 39-20 and won with a final score of 73-39. The seniors are Truman Lamers, Hayden Schommer, Greyson Gremban, Dominic Lehmann, Seth Nofftz, and Dylan Hopfensperger. On Friday, Feb. 21, the boys played Mosinee in a battle of two loss teams trying to stay in first place with Medford. Each of the three teams has two losses, and the team that wins out will win the conference title. The game was a back-and-forth affair, with Mosinee taking a two-point lead at the half, 36-34. The Hodags eventually took the lead, but Mosinee was consistently getting close, and Rhinelander got a little larger lead and then gave up a few baskets to keep the game close. The Hodags prevailed with a three-point win, 64-61. Mosinee had a three-point shot near the end of the game that did not go in — they got the rebound, and their last shot was taken after the horn sounded to end the game. The leading scorer for the Hodags was Devon Feck, who scored 17 points. Feck’s minutes were limited in the second half with a knee injury. Abe Gretzinger scored 15 off the bench, and Evan Shoeder added 10 points. Next up is a game Thursday, Feb. 27, in Medford, with the conference title on the line as both teams have two conference losses.