Gerrard Diaz, gdiaz@shawanoleader.com
Leader Photo by Gerrard Diaz Shawano Community High School sophomore Zeke Gueths goes up for a shot against a Rhinelander defender during the WIAA Division 2 sectional semifinal Thursday in Stevens Point. Shawano lost, 45-32. Gueths led the Hawks in scoring with 11 points.
Leader Photo by Gerrard Diaz Shawano Community High School senior Garret Schlise spins around Rhinelander’s Kent Matthews during the WIAA Division 2 sectional semifinal Thursday in Stevens Point. Shawano fell to the Great Northern champions, 45-32.
As the Stevens Point Area Senior High School field house slowly emptied after Thursday night’s WIAA Division 2 sectional semifinal, first-year Shawano coach Chris Kellett was saying goodbyes following his team’s 45-32 loss to Rhinelander.
He was almost back to the locker room when a couple of kids stopped him and thanked him for a great season. It was a moment that summed up the word the Hawks have rallied around all season: Family.
“We’re disappointed right now, but what we did for the community was fantastic,” Kellett said. “I want the youth kids involved, I want the parents involved, I want the community involved. I preach family first; we have it on the backs of our shirts. I think this is a great step in building a mountain.”
Half way though the game it looked like it would be another typical Shawano Community High School boys basketball game, close right until the end. The Hawks won in overtime against Antigo to open the regional tourney and then edged Waupaca 31-29 in the regional final.
The Hawks (16-9, 12-4 Bay Conference) held a slight lead throughout the first half Thursday and were up 22-20 at halftime. That trend continued into the third quarter, until the Hodags (20-5, 12-0 Great Northern) took a timeout trailing 27-24 with 4:51 left.
With Shawano’s 6-foot-6 center Zeke Gueths — who scored nine of his team-high 11 points in the first half — in foul trouble on the bench, Rhinelander was able to assert itself, going on a 17-1 run. Shawano managed only 10 second-half points, including only four in the final period.
“They got Zeke in foul trouble early, which was big,” Kellett said. “He got a third (foul) early in the third quarter, and I didn’t want to put him out there on a big that was pretty agile. … Zeke played a heck of a game. Without him we wouldn’t have even been in it.”
Senior Mitch Reinthaler scored with 3:11 left in the third to put the Hodags up 29-27.
With 4:06 left in the game, Shawano found itself trailing 41-28 before senior Dillon Frechette scored on a pair of free throws and junior Zack Sousek found the basket. Most of the other Hawks’ shots down the stretch didn’t fall, and the team shot just 32 percent from the field in the game, while Rhinelander 47 percent.
“We missed a lot of layups early,” Kellett said. “That kind of let them hang around. You have to tip your hat to them.”
Colton Volkmann, a 6-4 senior guard, led the way for Rhinelander with 13 points. Reinthaler added 12 and junior Kent Matthews put in 11.
“They’re a very talented team,” Kellett said. “They’re more than just the big two that everyone talks about. Matthews is a heck of a player for them.”
Kellett said a lot of the credit for the team’s postseason run goes to the team’s eight seniors: Frechette, Travis Geenen, Connor Neumann-Sleeper, Kyle Raddant, Clint Dallas, Jaryd Wilber, Garret Schlise and Alex Frechette.
“They were the catalyst,” he said.
Shawano (32)
D. Frechette 1 2-2 5, Sousek 3 3-6 9, Schlise 1 0-0 2, Lacy 2 0-0 5, Gueths 5 1-2 11
Rhinelander (45)
O’Melia 0 2-2 2, Matthews 4 2-2 11, Dart 1 0-0 2, Volkmann 5 2-2 13, Reinthaler 3 6-7 12, Oleinik 2 0-0 5
Shawano 13 9 6 4 — 32
Rhinelander 9 11 13 12 — 45