For the Tomahawk Leader

THREE LAKES – The Tomahawk Hatchet boys’ basketball team dropped a pair of games to start its season.

Three Lakes

On Tuesday, Nov. 28, the Hatchets opened up their season with a nonconference home game against Three Lakes and were defeated by a score of 58-42.

Coach Jacob Jarvensivu said the Hatchets went into the matchup at less than full strength due to injuries and sickness and fought hard for the entire game.

At halftime, Three Lakes held a 26-21 lead, and Tomahawk “just didn’t have enough offensive firepower” to keep pace with the Bluejays in the second half,” Jarvensivu said.

The Hatchets were led in scoring by Gavyn Palmer with 12 points, and Jaxson Werner had 10.

Jarvensivu noted that although the Hatchets out-rebounded the Bluejays, the “story of the game” was the field goal percentage – Tomahawk shot 27% from the field, whereas Three Lakes shot 43%. 

“A lot of times after games, we can pick one phase of the game that let us down,” Jarvensivu stated. “This case, it was both our offense and our defense. If we would’ve played great on both sides of the ball, we would’ve been able to compete. However, we played good on both sides of the ball, and that wasn’t quite good enough. I’m proud of the boys for their effort and how they continue to fight, even when we can’t catch any breaks.”

Northland Pines

Tomahawk made the trek to Eagle River to take on Northland Pines in a conference showdown on Friday, Dec. 2 and fell by a score of 58-30.

Northland Pines enters the season coming off a 2^nd-place finish in the Great Northern Conference (GNC) last year and returning all of their key players.

The Hatchets started the game strong, maintaining pace with the Eagles throughout most of the first half. Jarvensivu noted that the defense was much improved from three days prior, and they were able to make things challenging for Northland Pines.

However, the scoring prowess and athleticism of Northland Pines became overwhelming as the game went on, and the Eagles cruised to victory.

The Hatchets were held to 25% shooting from the field and were also hindered by 31 turnovers. Gavyn Palmer led the team with 10 points and 11 rebounds, and Tyler Jablonski chipped in seven points and 11 rebounds. 

“I think this may have been the biggest two-day improvement I’ve seen in my coaching career,” Jarvensivu said after the game. “I’m really proud of the boys for working really hard in practice to get better to compete with what I consider to be one of the best teams in northern Wisconsin. We need to continue to work on scoring more efficiently. If we can do that, we can take the next step in becoming more successful.”

This week’s games

Tomahawk is scheduled to take on Prentice in a road matchup on Tuesday, Dec. 6.

On Friday, Dec. 9, the Hatchets will travel to Mosinee for a game that starts at 7:15 p.m.