By Jed Buelow
Tomahawk Leader Co-Editor, Sports and Nature Editor
After trailing by two points heading into halftime, the Tomahawk hoopsters turned it up a notch in the second to get the hard-fought 59-57 win over Prentice at Hatchet Fieldhouse Tuesday.
“We put together a great comeback outing after being flat against Antigo. I thought our energy was great even with being shorthanded and that was the difference in the game,” stated Hatchet head coach Jacob Jarvensivu. “Prentice is a really good basketball team and I’m really proud of our guys for their performance.”
The performance included Tomahawk doubling up the Buccaneers in assists 18-9 and rebounding as the Hatchets grabbed 28 boards compared to Prentice’s 21. Jarvensivu said his team also got an outstanding performance from Nick Kahle as he provided a real spark on offense scoring 14 points and did a great job on defense.
Tomahawk had two others score in double digits. Drew Bolder continued his impressive season scoring 11 and Hatchet big men Connor Dichsen (12) and Payton Bunce added 9 points in the non-conference win.
The Hatchets took the fun on the road Thursday as they traveled to Ladysmith Thursday and took down a tough Lumberjack team by a score 62-56. The Hatchets made it a barnburner shooting lights out from the floor hitting over 56 percent of shots including 7-of-15 from three and making all nine free throws attempted.
“The boys played with great effort and energy for the second consecutive game. Ladysmith is a really good team and we played the game on our terms,” coach Jarvensivu said. “I thought our defensive effort was great and we took their best players out of what they do really well and made them adjust. It was a great team win.”
Kahle continued to be the hot hand for the Hatchets as he finished with 20 points after going 7-of-10 from the field. D. Bolder also provided a strong deep threat as he knocked down four threes to finish with 18 points and P. Bunce finished with 11 after hitting all four of his field goal attempts and finishing a perfect 3-for-3 from the free throw line.
Winners of five of their last six games, Tomahawk (1-3, 5-6) hosts Rhinelander (2-2, 3-6) tonight for a big GNC showdown and are back in action Friday, Jan. 17 as they travel to Northland Pines for a conference tilt before hosting Phillips at Hatchet Fieldhouse on Monday, Jan. 20. Opening tip for all three games is at 7:15 p.m.