For the Tomahawk Leader
TOMAHAWK – The Tomahawk Hatchet boys’ basketball team dropped two conference games last week.
Lakeland
On Tuesday, Jan. 4, the Hatchets faced off against the Lakeland Thunderbirds in their second home conference game of the year.
The Hatchets struggled to get anything going on offensively against a very aggressive man press from Lakeland. Lakeland used their athleticism and depth to make the game very fast-paced, which did not favor the Hatchets.
Lakeland ultimately won the game 66 to 30.
The Hatchets were lead in scoring by Tyler Welke, who had eight points.
“I thought that we matched Lakeland’s energy for most of the game, but their athleticism just overwhelmed us,” head coach Jacob Jarvensivu said after the game. “I thought we did some good things in the second half, which we will try to build on moving forward.”
Antigo
On Friday, Jan. 7, the Hatchets traveled to Antigo for their first road conference test of the season. Antigo is a very physical group, and the Hatchets were going to be tested early and often by their size and strength.
Tomahawk started the game off on a nice run offensively to take a 16 to 9 lead. Antigo changed defenses, and when they did, the Hatchets struggled to get anything going offensively. In the final 19 possessions of the half, Tomahawk only scored on three possessions with no turnovers.
The second half was more of the same for the Hatchets on the offensive end of the floor. It seemed there was a lid on the basket, but the defense was so good it kept them in the game. The Hatchets fought to the very end, but the final score was 51 to 41, with Antigo getting the victory.
The Hatchets were led in scoring by Tyler Welke, who had 15 points.
“I thought we did a really good job of playing hard in this game,” Jarvensivu stated. “In my opinion, this was the best game we had played all year, in terms of our energy and effort. We are starting to find our identity as a team, and that identity is that we play really hard in every possession of every game. I look forward to us getting better as a team moving forward, and hopefully we can beat Antigo the next time that we play them.”
The Hatchet hoopsters were slated to travel to Elcho on Tuesday, Jan. 11. Rhinelander will be in town on Friday, Jan. 14, for a game at SARA Park. Opening tip-off is at 7:15 p.m.