The Tomahawk Hatchet boys basketball team finishes the regular season with an 8-14 record, after losing their regular season finale 60-55 on Thursday night at Mosinee.
In the early going of the first half of play, Tomahawk jumped out to an early lead, leading 8-2 with 13:19. A couple turnovers by Tomahawk allowed Mosinee to cut the lead to 12-7, with Tomahawk gaining a 14-7 lead at the 9:50 mark of the first.
Mosinee then went on a 12-5 run to tie the game at 19-19 with 2:45 to play in the half. The Hatchets had three turnovers during that Mosinee run.
The first half closed with Mosinee leading 23-21.
“I thought we came ready to play, and our defense was very good,” said THS coach Tim Albert. “We limited dribble penetration, challenged shots and rebounded the ball very well. We held a very good offensive team to only seven field goals in the first half. Mosinee did do some damage from the free throw line.
“Offensively we were good in spurts,” Albert added. “We went from scoring on four straight possessions, to turning it over on three of our next five. We just need to be more consistent and take care of the basketball.”
Both teams started the second half with field goals, Mosinee led 25-23. A quick run by Mosinee gave them a 32-25 lead. Tomahawk cut that lead to four at the 10:28 mark, 36-32. The Indians would then take advantage of three Hatchet turnovers and gain a 45-37 lead. Mosinee would eventually build a 57-45 lead with under three minutes to play. Tomahawk then went on a late run, to cut the lead to five, 60-55 with under :10 to play. The Hatchets had a chance to make it a one possession game, but couldn’t convert.
“We never gave up, and battled until the final horn,” Albert said. “We had our chances, especially from the free throw line. The game was basically won by Mosinee from the charity stripe, as they went 24-33, and we shot 12-25, with several of our misses coming on front ends. We had 17 two point field goals and three three point field goals and they had 15 and two. That really shows how they beat us from the free throw line.
“Obviously with us being down we were forced to foul and I give a lot of credit to the kids from Mosinee for stepping up and hitting their free throws.
“We are continuing to improve, and we look forward to the second season beginning on Tuesday.”
The Hatchets will begin tournament play on Tuesday night, as the Hatchets are the #9 seed in their sectional. The Hatchets will travel to #8 seed Fox Valley Lutheran. The opening tip is at 7 p.m. The winner will advance to the WIAA Regional Semi Finals on Friday night at Xavier.