The Henning Hornet junior high boys’ basketball teams recently wrapped up their seasons. Both teams had very successful seasons and were able to make some really nice gains. 

The seventh grade team finished with a record of 8-4 with two of those wins coming from an overtime thriller against Verndale and a one point win against Pillager. 

The eighth grade team one upped the seventh graders by finishing 9-3 with no losses by more than eight points. 

The eighth grade team was composed of Trevor Arndt, Gabe Froslee, Trystan Loghry, Conner Reinbold, Elliot Severson, Teghan Wiirre and Beck Thorson. These guys have been playing together for a good amount of time and it really shows on both ends of the court. They do a nice job of getting the ball up the court and running the offense. 

For them it really was just a matter of whether they were able to finish their shots on any given night. When the efforts were there, the Hornets were able to play a really nice brand of Hornet basketball. As they continue forward, they need to continue to work on becoming a more consistent team each night and working on their individual offensive skill sets for the betterment of the team. 

The seventh grade team was composed of Isaac Eckhoff, John Umland, Tyson Eckhoff, Ryker Thalmann, Javion Green, Mason Umland, Easton Misegades, Justin Redfield and Owen Scott. This team had to battle every night because they only had 3 seventh graders and the rest were sixth graders filling in. 

Some nights the team just had to slow the game down and try to keep the score close so they had a chance at the end. The Hornets were successful in doing this twice against both Verndale and Pillager. Henning got themselves in a deep hole early against Verndale, but chipped away and as the buzzer sounded the Hornets hit a 3-pointer to send the game into overtime. In overtime, Henning made a couple clutch free throws to seal the victory. 

Against Pillager it was very similar with Henning’s backs against the wall and they just found a way to sneak out a victory at the end by one. These kids really had to work hard to get all the wins that they did. They will have to continue to work hard in the offseason at dribbling and shooting to continue to have success.

Tge coaches hope both these squads work hard and continue the excellent Hornet tradition.