Henning falls to Border West in section title game

Several hundred Henning Hornet basketball fans arrived in excess of 90 minutes before Friday’s scheduled tip off for the Section 6A championship game in Fergus Falls. In fact, the parking lot near the gym was filling up with Henning fans, even before the Border West basketball team arrived at the facility. 

Friday’s game was the third of the week for the Henning Hornets as they went into the game with a record of 28-1 overall and a chance to capture their first section championship since 2020. Unfortunately, their bid to advance to state came up just short as they fell to the Border West Buccaneers by a score of 65-51 on Friday night. 

The loss brought to an end another tremendous season for the fourth ranked Hornets, who also captured the Park Region Conference championship with a record of 14-0 and the sub section championship after Henning defeated neighboring Battle Lake by a score of 59-45 on Wednesday night. 

“Finishing 28-2, with conference and sub-section titles, says a lot about the efforts from our team. We accomplished that with 16 kids playing basketball in grades 9-12 and one of the smallest enrollments in Section 6,” said head coach Randy Misegades. “Henning basketball has a proud tradition and high standard for good basketball and high character kids. We expect the next group of kids to step in and continue that excellence.”

Monday

Henning advanced to the sub section championship game last Monday night with a 68-54 win over Hillcrest. The game was postponed from Saturday due to inclement weather. The Hornets jumped out to a big lead early on, only to see Hillcrest get back into the game late in the first half. Henning held a 33-26 lead at halftime, before pulling away in the second half to secure the win. 

Both teams found quite a bit of success from the floor as the Comets shot 48 percent, while the Hornets shot 46 percent. The big difference came from behind the 3-point line as Henning went 11-21 and Hillcrest went 8-18. The Hornets also went 17-22 from the free throw line, compared to 10-12 for the Comets. 

“We’re excited to move on and earn another day of practice. Our guys fought through some adversity again tonight, which is what playoff basketball is all about. Hillcrest presents a lot of match-up issues,” said head coach Randy Misegades. 

The Hornets were led by the trio of Tyson Misegades, Kale Misegades and Mason Hammer who combined to score all 68 team points for Henning. Kale Misegades went 9-14 from the field to finish with 25 points, while Tyson Misegades scored 24 points and Mason Hammer scored 19 points. 

Lane Dilly has a solid night on the boards as the junior collected 8 of Henning’s 18 team rebounds.

POINTS: Kale Misegades 25, Tyson Misegades 24, Mason Hammer 19

ASSISTS: Kale Misegades 4, Tyson Misegades 3, Lane Dilly 2, Mason Hammer 2, Carter Dilly 1

REBOUNDS: Lane Dilly 8, Tyson Misegades 3, Carter Dilly 3, Eli Reinbold 1, Mason Hammer 1, Logan Kostelecky 1, Carter Kenyon 1

STEALS: Lane Dilly 4, Kale Misegades 2, Mason Hammer 2, Tyson Misegades 1, Carter Dilly 1, Logan Kostelecky 1

BLOCKS: Mason Hammer 1

Wednesday

Playing for the second time in three days, the Henning Hornets were able to capture the sub section championship with a tough 59-45 win over Battle Lake. The game was played in Fergus Falls and both teams struggled to put the ball in the net for a good portion of the game. 

Henning shot just 35 percent from the floor, including just 6-24 from behind the 3-point line, while the Battlers shot just 27 percent from the floor. 

“Another grinder…we are really proud of the defensive effort from our guys tonight. We shot the ball extremely poorly, but really dug in on the defensive end of the floor. Mason Hammer and Lane Dilly were big time on the glass,” said head coach Randy Misegades. 

Henning held a slight 23-20 lead at halftime, before they pulled away early in the second half thanks to a big run to kick off the final 18 minutes. 

Mason Hammer led the way offensively with a double-double after he scored 17 points to go along with 16 rebounds. Kale Misegades scored 16 points and Tyson Misegades scored 13 points. 

Lane Dilly just missed out on a double-double of his own as he scored 9 points to go along with 14 rebounds. 

The Battlers were kept in the game down the stretch thanks to the shooting of Owen Buehler who led all scorers with 31 points, including seven 3-pointers. 

“Owen Buehler was spectacular for Battle Lake tonight. I’ve gotten to know Owen very well over the years. He’s a great kid and he finished his career with a tremendous effort,” said Misegades. 

POINTS: Mason Hammer 17, Kale Misegades 16, Tyson Misegades 13, Lane Dilly 9, Carter Dilly 4

ASSISTS: Kale Misegades 4, Mason Hammer 4, Tyson Misegades 2, Carter Dilly 1, Lane Dilly 1

REBOUNDS: Mason Hammer 16, Lane Dilly 14, Kale Misegades 5, Carter Dilly 4, Tyson Misegades 2

STEALS: Kale Misegades 4, Tyson Misegades 3, Mason Hammer 1, Lane Dilly 1, Logan Kostelecky 1

BLOCKS: Kale Misegades 3, Mason Hammer 1

Friday

With a combined record of 53-3, Friday’s Section 6A championship game between Border West and Henning featured not only two of the top teams in the section, but in the state as well. With a packed gym in Fergus Falls, Henning came up just short in its bid for a trip to the state tournament as the Hornets fell by a score of 65-51. 

“Always tough to end a season. I certainly don’t question our effort. Border West was just flat out better than Henning tonight. They are athletic, physical, skilled and deep. They were just too much for us,” said head coach Randy Misegades.

In a back and forth first half, Henning trailed by a score of 29-25 and trailed by double digits for a good portion of the second half. The Hornets made a run midway through the second half to cut the deficit to just 4 points, but were unable to overtake the Buccaneers. 

As a team, Henning shot just 34 percent from the floor and went just 6-32 from behind the 3-point line. Henning ended its season with a runner up finish in the section and was ranked fourth in the final state rankings in Class A. 

“I am proud of our guys. All season we heard outsiders tell us we were not athletic enough, not deep enough and that we lacked what it took to beat quality teams,” said Misegades. 

The Hornets were led offensively by Mason Hammer who willed Henning down the stretch with 23 points and a team-high 6 rebounds. Tyson Misegades also reached double figures with 12 points and Kale Misegades had 6 points and a team-high 5 assists. 

The loss also marked the end of the high school basketball careers for seniors Riley Bode, Carter Dilly, Mason Hammer and Tyson Misegades. Combined, the group of four seniors were part of varsity teams that compiled a record of 94-15 over the past four years. 

“We want to say a special thank you to our four outgoing seniors:  Riley Bode, Carter Dilly, Mason Hammer and Tyson Misegades.  I’ve been their coach since they showed up in kindergarten and they’ve given a huge part of their life to Henning basketball. In four years of varsity basketball, they were part of teams that compiled a record of 94-15. I couldn’t be prouder of a group of kids,” said Misegades. 

Henning ended its season with a record of 28-2 overall. 

POINTS: Mason Hammer 23, Tyson Misegades 12, Lane Dilly 7, Kale Misegades 6, Logan Kostelecky 3

ASSISTS: Kale Misegades 5, Lane Dilly 2, Carter Dilly 1, Eli Reinbold 1, Mason Hammer 1, Logan Kostelecky 1

REBOUNDS: Mason Hammer 6, Lane Dilly 5, Kale Misegades 2, Logan Kostelecky 2, Carter Dilly 1, Eli Reinbold 1

STEALS: Lane Dilly 4, Carter Dilly 1, Mason Hammer 1

BLOCKS: Kale Misegades 1, Mason Hammer 1