For the Tomahawk Leader
TOMAHAWK – Last week, the Tomahawk Hatchet boys’ basketball team took on Lakeland and Antigo.
Lakeland
The Hatchets faced the Lakeland Thunderbirds in a conference matchup at the Fieldhouse on Tuesday, Feb. 7.
Lakeland came out shooting the ball well and took a 37-13 lead into halftime. It was more of the same in the second half for the Thunderbirds, and the Hatchets couldn’t seem to get anything to fall as the Thunderbirds cruised to a 71-30 victory.
The Hatchets were led in scoring by Gavyn Palmer with nine points.
Head coach Jacob Jarvensivu said there some good things and bad things that happened in the game.
“We did a pretty good job of controlling our turnovers in the second half, but in the first half, there were just not enough shots on our end,” he stated. “We don’t shoot a good enough percentage to miss out on scoring opportunities, so we have to take advantage of every chance we get with the ball. I’m proud of the boys’ effort, and I think we’re continuing to improve.”
Antigo
On Friday, Feb. 10, the Hatchets traveled to Antigo for their final road conference game of the year.
Antigo used their size and strength in the first half to dominate the rebounding situation and put the Hatchets in foul trouble, and the Red Robins took a 30-15 lead into halftime. The Hatchets came storming back to start the second half, going on a 14-0 run to cut the lead to one.
After a bunch of back and forth basketball, the Hatchets ended up taking a 39-38 lead with four minutes to go in the second half. The Red Robins proved to be just too big rebounding and made a few more shots than the Hatchets and went on a run of their own. The Hatchets ultimately fell 51-41.
Tyler Jablonski led the Hatchets with 13 points, and Ethan Breitenfeld added 11.
“This was probably our best basketball game, energy-wise, of the season,” Jarvensivu said. “We were disciplined and focused and we dictated the tempo of the game for the most part. I want to give a shout out to Joey Reiter, as he played a great game guarding one of the best big guys in the conference. Joey is 6 inches shorter and 50 pounds lighter than Mason Gray and battled him the entire game tough. We just didn’t quite make enough shots to pull out the victory, but I am definitely proud of our effort.”
This week’s action
The Hatchets are set to host a pair of home games this week.
On Thursday, Feb. 16, Bonduel will come to town, and Crandon is slated to visit the Hatchet Fieldhouse on Friday, Feb. 15. Both games get underway at 7:15 p.m.