Hornets to host youth night on January 11

Teigan Bjerke goes up for a contested shot in the lane during Henning’s recent game against Wadena-Deer Creek.

By Chad Koenen

Publisher

The ninth ranked Henning Hornets returned home last week and picked up a pair of important wins not only in the conference but for the postseason tournament. 

Dawson Misegades takes a shot in the lane during the first half of last week’s game against the Wolverines.

After defeating Wadena-Deer Creek by a score of 67-55 on Thursday night to improve to 4-0 in the Park Region Conference, the Hornets defeated Staples-Motley on Saturday by a score of 61-45 in non-conference action.

Henning is now 9-2 on the season and will have a busy week on tap. After hosting Verndale on Tuesday night as part of a boys-girls doubleheader, the Hornets will host New York Mills on Thursday night as part of an elementary basketball night in Henning. The night will include the K-2 students playing at halftime of the JV basketball game, before the 3-6 grade students will play at halftime of the varsity game.

Following the varsity game, youth in attendance will have an opportunity to get an autograph of their favorite Henning basketball player and receive a free picture of the varsity basketball team, while supplies last. 

On Saturday Henning will travel to Perham to participate in the Breakdown Classic where they will play undefeated and fifth ranked Ada-Borup West. The game will take place at 4:45 p.m.

December 29

Henning fell for the second straight time at the Fergus Falls Holiday Tournament on Friday, Dec. 29. The Hornets lost to Class AAA Worthington by a score of 80-56 in the third place game of the tournament. The Hornets, who came into the tournament with a perfect 7-0 record and were ranked sixth in the state, were the lone Class A school in the tournament that featured a pair of Class AAA schools and the 10th ranked team in Class AA.

Despite the loss, the Hornets trailed by just a 38-30 margin at halftime and trailed by single digits for much of the second half before the Trojans pulled away late in the second half to come away with an 80-56 win.

The Trojans shot 54 percent from the field and pulled down 35 rebounds down low. 

The Hornets went just 22-57 from the field, but stayed in the game thanks to seven 3-point shots.

Kale Misegades led the way offensively for Henning as he scored 20 points to go along with 8 rebounds. Teigan Bjerke scored 13 points and finished with 5 rebounds, while Noah Umland scored 8 points in the loss. Dawson Misegades and Lane Dilly each scored 6 points, while Logan Kostelecky rounded out the scoring with 3 points. 

POINTS: Teigan Bjerke 13, Kale Misegades 20, Noah Umland 8, Lane Dilly 6, Logan Kostelecky 3, Dawson Misegades 6

ASSISTS: Teigan Bjerke 4, Kale Misegades 3, Lane Dilly 2, Logan Kostelecky 4

REBOUNDS: Teigan Bjerke 5, Kale Misegades 8, Noah Umland 2, Lane Dilly 5, Logan Kostelecky 2, Dawson Misegades 2

STEALS: Kale Misegades 3, Lane Dilly 3, Dawson Misegades 1

Thursday

The Hornets improved to 8-2 overall and 4-0 in the Park Region Conference as they secured a 67-55 win over Wadena-Deer Creek on Thursday night.

Henning actually trailed at halftime by a score of 29-26, but continued to chip away at the Wolverines lead in the second half with solid play inside the paint. They also went 15-18 from the free throw line to keep Wadena-Deer Creek at bay in the final minutes of the game. Meanwhile the Wolverines went just 5-13 from the free throw line, but were kept in the game by Teshe Loer who went 6-7 from behind the 3-point line to finish with a team-high 26 points. 

“This was a great atmosphere for high school hoops. Our gym was full with fans from both schools. WDC is a very solid team that plays really hard. They made it difficult for us to score consistently,” said head coach Randy Misegades.

The Hornets were once again led by Kale Misegades who scored 28 points on just 11-16 shooting from the field. Lane Dilly finished with a double-double as he scored 10 points to go along with 16 rebounds, while Teigan Bjerke scored 10 points and pulled down 5 rebounds.

Noah Umland had a solid night from the field as he scored 9 points on just 4-6 shooting, while Logan Kostelecky scored 6 points and Ryan Despard and Dawson Misegades rounded out the scoring with 2 points apiece. 

“Our guys competed hard and hit some shots in the second half, which allowed us to open up a margin. And then we were able to make free throws down the stretch to put the game away,” said Misegades. 

POINTS: Teigan Bjerke 10, Ryan Despard 2, Kale Misegades 28, Noah Umland 9, Lane Dilly 10, Logan Kostelecky 6, Dawson Misegades 2

ASSISTS: Teigan Bjerke 3, Kale Misegades 2, Noah Umland 1, Lane Dilly 5, Logan Kostelecky 1

REBOUNDS: Teigan Bjerke 5, Ryan Despard 1, Kale Misegades 5, Ryan Umland 5, Lane Dilly 16, Logan Kostelecky 2, Dawson Misegades 1

STEALS: Kale Misegades 5, Lane Dilly 2

Saturday

Henning picked up its second straight win to start the new year with a 61-45 win over the Staples-Motley Cardinals on Saturday. 

“Nice finish to the week over a really talented team from Staples-Motley,” said head coach Randy Misegades.

Henning took an early lead in the first half and led at halftime by a score of 28-24. They extended the lead throughout the second half and hit a couple of shots down the stretch to come away with their ninth win of the season. 

Kale Misegades led the way offensively as the sophomore scored 18 points and pulled down 10 rebounds to finish with a double-double. Teigan Bjerke also had a solid night from the field as he scored 14 points to go along with a team-high 7 assist and 6 rebounds.

Ryan Despard and Logan Kostelecky each scored 8 points, while Noah Umland scored 5 and Lane Dilly and Dawson Misegades rounded out the scoring with 4 points apiece. 

“Ryan Despard, Logan Kostelecky, and Dawson Misegades all did some nice things for us today. Our scoring was balanced which was great to see,” said Misegades.

The Hornets played well on the defensive end of the court as they forced 19 Cardinal turnovers and outrebounded the team by a 30-22 margin. 

POINTS: Teigan Bjerke 14, Ryan Despard 8, Kale Misegades 18, Noah Umland 5, Lane Dilly 4, Logan Kostelecky 8, Dawson Misegades 4

ASSISTS: Teigan Bjerke 7, Kale Misegades 3, Noah Umland 3, Lane Dilly 4

REBOUNDS: Teigan Bjerke 6, Kale Misegades 10, Noah Umland 1, Lane Dilly 8, Logan Kostelecky 2, Dawson Misegades 3

STEALS: Teigan Bjerke 4, Kale Misegades 3, Lane Dilly 4, Dawson Misegades 1