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Pines boys open season with win at Three Lakes, split pair of games at Wausau West tournament

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The Northland Pines boys basketball team opened the season last Tuesday on the road in the Battle for the Paddle game against Three Lakes and came away with a 68-55 win. 

The Eagles also traveled to Wausau West for a holiday tournament and split a pair of games, losing to West 74-65 and beating Newman Catholic 71-34.

The Three Lakes game was a back-and-forth contest for the first 10 minutes with Pines taking an early 15-13 lead. The Eagles extended the lead to 27-17 with just under 5 minutes to play in the half. Both teams got some tough buckets as Pines extended its lead to 11 at 34-23 at the break.

“We did a nice job of being patient and letting the game come to us,” said Pines sixth-year coach Terry Klemett. “Our guys really had to work against their defense and they made us work hard against their offense. We were able to wear them down more as the half was coming to a close with our deep rotations and pushing the ball up the floor after key stops.”

The second half saw the Eagles get some defensive stops and, with nice ball movement and shooting, built a 51-36 lead with 10 minutes to go. Pines built a 19-point lead, but Three Lakes climbed back and cut the Pines lead down to 61-53 with 6 minutes to play. The Eagles eventually pulled away and secured a 68-53 win.

Pines was led by Mylo Albrecht, with 25 points, followed by Jonathan Miller and Cody Vojta with 12 a piece. Miller added five rebounds, while Vojta had four boards, four steals and four assists.

“Three Lakes really played well,” said Klemett. “They are well coached and they ran their offense efficiently. They really torched the nets. I thought our guys did a great job of just being steady and continually running our systems on both sides of the ball. We took care of the ball well and just had a steady presence in the game. All of our guys did their job. It was good first game.”

Wausau tourney

The Eagles traveled to Wausau West for the Thanksgiving Shootout and lost a very close game against Division 1 Wausau West 74-65 in the opener Friday.

The game was a battle for the first eight minutes with the score 10-10 before the home team went up 25-14 with 7 minutes to go in the half. The Eagles cut that lead down to six at 29-23 at the 3-minute mark before the host team went on another run to lead 37-29 at the break.

“We really handled their pressure extremely well,” said Klemett. “They are a very good defensive team and we made them work with our ball movement and shooting. We had some defensive breakdowns that got us in trouble late in the half, but our team kept playing hard and made some pays to keep the game within reach.”

The second half saw the Eagles close the gap at 41-37 at the 14-minute mark with some fine shooting by Albrecht, A.J. Muench and Vojta.

West would go on a run of their own to go up 65-52 with 6 minutes remaining before the Eagles hot hand continued and cut the lead down to four at 65-61 with 2:20 remaining. The host team went up 69-61 with a minute to go before the Eagles would score four quick points after some nice stops to get within reach, down 69-65 with 45 seconds remaining.

West missed two free throws but got the offensive rebound and bucket to go up 71-65 with under 30 seconds remaining. Pines missed the ensuing shot and put Westt at the line, who sank both shots to seal the win 73-65.

“We battled. We had a few miscues defensively and on rebounding that really cost us this game,” said Klemett. “They are a good team that won 15 games last year and everyone’s back. So for us to come down here and play a Division 1 school the way we did and have that game within reach is a very good sign. Our senior trio of Jonathan Miller, A.J. Muench and Cody Voita really showed their leadership and have been playing fantastic basketball. They all have been around the program for years now and they have been very very good.

Albrecht had another big game with 27 points and six rebounds. Muench and Voita chipped in with 14 points apiece. 

The Eagles played Newman Catholic in the consolation game Saturday and came away with a convincing 71-34 victory.

Pines started the game up 9-0 before Newman got on the board at the 10-minute mark. The Eagles were very patient against Newman’s 3-2 zone defense and went on a 15-2 run to extend the lead to 24-4 with under 4 minutes to play in the half. Pines went into the break up 34-12.

“We played a good first half defensively,” said Klemett. “Their zone defense made us work a little bit and once we found our spots, we were able to capitalize on them. Defensively we were very good and stayed within our scouting report.”

The second half saw the Eagles play a deep rotation of players and used fine shooting to take a 55-20 lead with 6 minutes remaining.

Four players were in double figures for the Eagles, led by Albrecht with 12 points. Jacob Beer, Miller and Voita all chipped in 11 points. Vojta also had seven boards.

“This was a good weekend of basketball for us. We played a lot of players and all contributed in some way,” said Klemett. “I am very pleased with where we are at right now this early in the season.” 

The Eagles, 2-1 overall, played at Hurley on Tuesday of this week in a nonconference game and will open Great Northern Conference (GNC) plat at Tomahawk this Friday, Dec.  6, at 7:15 p.m. The Eagles first home game will be Tuesday, Dec. 10, against Merrill at 7:15 p.m.

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