Eagles lose to Hodags after big Merrill victory

The Northland Pines boys basketball team lost its first Great Northern Conference (GNC) game to rival Rhinelander 65-48 in the fieldhouse last Friday night.
The Hodags jumped out to an early 12-2 advantage and built a 22 lead late in the half, up 26-4 with six minutes remaining. Pines struggled shooting the ball throughout the half until making a late push to cut the Hodags lead down to 36-18 at the half.
“We struggled to make a shot and that can’t happen against a really good team,” said Pines coach Terry Klemett. “And then factor in the fact we were turning the ball over every other possession. Rhinelander is good, and they made us uncomfortable on offense, and then we had defensive breakdowns to top it off.”
The second half saw the Eagles make a push twice to cut the Hodags lead down to 12, 48-36, with eight minutes remaining. Every time the Eagles would make a push, the Hodags stopped the runs with baskets of their own. The Eagles never cut the lead under 12 points as the Hodags closed the game out with a 65-48 win.
“We weren’t very good tonight, on either side of the ball. We played better in the second half and played hard despite digging a big hole,” said Klemett. “I am proud of the effort, but disappointed with the fact that we didn’t play Pines basketball.”

Mylo Albrecht led the Eagles with 16 points and nine rebounds.
Merrill victory
The Eagles took on Wisconsin Valley Conference member Merrill last Tuesday night and came away with a convincing 61-45 nonconference win at the fieldhouse. Pines made some early baskets and got some defensive stops to take an early 14-4 lead. After a Merrill timeout, the Eagles continued to control the game and went into the break, up 30-18.
“We played fantastic basketball in that first half. We took good shots, moved the ball well, and played great defensive. We really played like a veteran team,” said Klemett.
The second half was much of the same as the Eagles continued their fine play, going up by as much as 20 points to 44-24 with seven minutes remaining. The Eagles defense and offense kept the Bluejays at bay to pull out a fine nonconference win.
“We played well for about 34 minutes tonight and then we got a little sloppy with the ball at the end,” said Klemett. “All in all, I was proud of our play. Our seniors did another great job tonight of leading and making plays. We played a short bench and all the guys that played made great contributions.”
A.J. Muench led the Eagles with 17 points. Jonathan Miller had another nice game with 12 points and eight rebounds.
“A.J. was really good tonight and he’s capable of playing that way all the time,” said Klemett. “Jon has had a great start to the season and is playing very well.”
Cody Vojta did a little bit of everything for Pines with 10 points, five rebounds, and four assists.
Pines, 1-1 in the GNC and 5-2 overall, will play at Lakeland in a big conference game this Friday, Dec. 20, at 7:15 p.m. The Eagles will also play in a holiday tournament at Adams-Friendship High School Friday and Saturday, Dec. 27-28. The other teams will be Hillsboro and Sparta, with games starting at 1 p.m. both days.