Henning to face LP-A in Cobber Classic

By Chad Koenen

Publisher

The defending Section 6A runner up Henning Hornets got their season off to a fast start last week as the Hornets picked up a pair of wins over Rothsay and Menahga.

On Tuesday night the Hornets hit the road and traveled to Rothsay for a non-conference game against the Tigers. The Hornets defeated the Tigers by a score of 65-47, before traveling to Menahga on Thursday night to edge the Braves by a score of 69-43 in Park Region Conference.

The Hornets, who are currently ranked ninth in the state, will host Pillager on Tuesday night, before traveling to Sebeka on Thursday night in a pair of Park Region Conference games. 

On Saturday the Hornets will travel to Concordia College in Moorhead to take on Lake Park-Audubon in the Concordia Cobber Classic. Tip off for Saturday’s game will be at 3 p.m.

Tuesday

Teigan Bjerke and Kale Misegades combined to score 50 points as the Henning Hornets defeated Rothsay by a score of 65-47 on Tuesday night. The game was less-than three weeks after several members of the basketball team wrapped up their football season at US Bank Stadium. In addition to that short turnaround, the Hornets were facing a new-look Rothsay Tiger team this year.

“We were not exactly sure what to expect as Rothsay has a brand new coaching staff led by Coach Jacobson. We came away very impressed with how well they played. They were disciplined, organized, and changed defenses which kept us a bit off balance. Rothsay is going to win their share of games in 23-24. They have some positive things going,” said head coach Randy Misegades.

Henning took a 37-31 lead at halftime after shooting 45 percent from the field and overcame some early foul trouble to hold on for the non-conference win over the Tigers. 

“Our guys played hard, but we need to find a way to develop some depth and keep ourselves out of foul trouble,” said Misegades. “We’re excited for the win, but also looking forward to improving some things on both ends of the floor as we move ahead.”

The Hornets were led offensively by Teigan Bjerke who scored 29 points off of 12-20 shooting from the field. He also finished with 4 assists in the win.

Kale Misegades scored 21 points to go along with a team-high 7 assists, 6 rebounds and 5 steals.

Dawson Misegades scored 8 points in the paint and pulled down 8 rebounds, while Lane Dilly scored 4 points and pulled down a team-high 9 rebounds. Ryan Despard rounded out the scoring with 3 points.

POINTS: Teigan Bjerke 29, Ryan Despard 3, Kale Misegades 21, Lane Dilly 4, Dawson Misegades 8

ASSISTS: Teigan Bjerke 4, Kale Misegades 7, Lane Dilly 3, Logan Kostelecky 1

REBOUNDS: Teigan Bjerke 3, Ryan Despard 4, Kale Misegades 6, Lane Dilly 9, Logan Kostelecky 3, Dawson Misegades 8

STEALS: Teigan Bjerke 1, Kale Misegades 5, Lane Dilly 2, Dawsone Misegades 2

BLOCKS: Teigan Bjerke 2, Kale Misegades 2

Thursday

The Hornets hit the road for the second time on Thursday night as they made the trek up north to Menahga to take on the Braves. The Hornets used a late run in the first half to pull away from the Braves and held on in the final 18 minutes of action to come away with a 69-43 win. 

“Menahga made things really difficult for us offensively. They are athletic and physical and didn’t allow us anything easy,” said head coach Randy Misegades. “We made a nice run to end the first half and then were able to extend the lead throughout the second half.”

Henning led by a score of 31-20 at the half and picked up the tempo in the second half to come away with the 69-43 win over the Braves. 

All of the Hornets scoring came from five players, all of whom shot better-than 50 percent from the field. 

Kale Misegades finished with a double-double with 28 points and 10 rebounds, while Teigan Bjerke finished just 1 rebound shy of recording a double-double as the junior scored 15 points to go along with 9 rebounds. 

Logan Kostelecky scored 14 points thanks to four 3-point shots, while Ryan Despard scored 8 points and Lane Dilly rounded out the scoring with 4 points and 7 rebounds. 

Misegades said he was pleased with the conference opening win, but said the Hornets have plenty of things to clean up on both the offensive and defensive end of the court moving forward. 

“We still have plenty of things to clean up on both ends of the floor, but we’re happy to get our first conference win,” said Misegades. 

POINTS: Teigan Bjerke 15, Ryan Despard 8, Kale Misegades 28, Lane Dilly 4, Logan Kostelecky 14

ASSISTS: Teigan Bjerke 3, Ryan Depard 1, Kale Misegades 3, Lane Dilly 2

REBOUNDS: Teigan Bjerke 9, Ryan Despard 5, Kale Misegades 10, Lane Dilly 7, Logan Kostelecky 6, Mason Samuelson 2, Dawson Misegades 3

STEALS: Kale Misegades 5, Lane Dilly 3

BLOCKS: Teigan Bjerke 1, Kale Misegades 1, Dawson Misegades 1