By Chad Koenen

Publisher

In a game that featured a top of top five teams in the state, Nevis was able to hand Henning only its second loss of the season on Saturday at the Breakdown Classic in Perham. The fourth ranked Hornets fell to the third ranked Tigers by a score of 63-57 in one of several marque games held in Perham on Saturday.

The loss drops the Hornets to 10-2 on the season after the picked up a pair of big Park Region Conference wins over Sebeka and Wadena-Deer Creek. The Hornets are currently a perfect 5-0 in conference action as they will look to rebound this week with three games against Browerville on Tuesday night, Verndale on Thursday and Battle Lake on Friday. 

Tuesday

The Henning Hornets continued its stranglehold on the Park Region Conference with a commanding 90-39 win over the Sebeka Trojans. The Hornets shot 61 percent from the field and hit 14-28 3-pointers in the game. 

“Tonight was a fun evening for our program as a whole. Our C, JV and Varsity teams all handled their business in front of a nice crowd,” said head coach Randy Misegades. 

While the Hornets scored nearly 100 points in the win, Misegades said he was proud of the performance the team put on the defensive end of the floor by holding  the Trojans to just 39 points for the game. 

As a team the Hornets had 10 players reach double figures as they went to their bench early in the game. Beck Thorson had a big game for the Hornets as he scored a team-high 18 points on 6-7 shooting from behind the 3-point line. 

Teigan Bjerke and Logan Koestelecky both scored 17 points, while Noah Umland scored 11 and Dawson Misegades also reached double figures with 10 points. 

“A lot of guys contributed to the win. We did a nice job sharing the ball and finding the hot hand. Beck Thorson knocked down 6 of 7 threes which was great to see,” said Misegades. 

POINTS: Thorson 18, Bjerke 17, Despard 2, Reinbold 9, Umland 11, Kostelecky 17, Bjerke 1, Wiederich 3, Suchy 2, Misegades 10

ASSISTS: Bjerke 7, Despard 2, Reinbold 6, Umland 2, Kostelecky 6, Bjerke 1, Samuelson 1

REBOUNDS: Bushman 2, Bjerke 7, Reinbold 5, Umland 5, Kostelecky 7, Bjerke 1, Wiederich 1, Samuelson 1, Suchy 2, Misegades 4

STEALS: Bjerke 3, Despard 2, Reinbold 1, Umland 2, Kostelecky 1, Bjerke 3, Wiederich 1, Misegades 4

Friday

Henning shot 50 percent from the field and pumped up 39 3-pointers in a 84-65 win over Wadena-Deer Creek on Friday night. 

Teigan Bjerke helped the Hornets get off to a strong start as they held a 44-31 lead at halftime as he finished with 32 points on just 13-18 shooting from the field. He also had eight assists and five steals. He also went 6-8 from behind the 3-point line. 

“We were able to score at a high clip and play efficiently on offense tonight,” said head coach Randy Misegades. “Teigan Bjerke got into a nice rhythm.”

Noah Umland also knocked down six 3-pointers int he win as he scored 20 points, while Logan Kostelecky scored 19 points and finished with seven as

POINTS: Bjerke 32, Despard 7, Reinbold 4, Kostelecky 19, Misegades 2

ASSISTS: Thorson 1, Bjerke 8, Reinbold 6, Kostelecky 7, Wiederich 1

REBOUNDS: Bjerke 2, Despard 3, Reinbold 5, Umland 3, Kostelecky 7, Suchy 1, Misegades 5

STEALS: Bjerke 5, Despard 2, Reinbold 1, Kostelecky 2, Bjerke 1 sists and seven rebounds. 

Saturday

In a clash between two of the top ranked teams in the state, Nevis was able to do something few teams have been able to do over the past few years, slow down a powerful Henning offensive attack.

“Nevis showed why they are a top level team. They were able to play the game at their pace and get the ball inside and use their size,” said head coach Randy Misegades.

The Hornets trailed 33-27 at the half and struggled to find their shot throughout the night as they shot just 30 percent from the floor and went just 7-24 from behind the 3-point line. Despite the low scoring game, the Hornets had open looks that just didn’t go through the basket. 

“We had plenty of clean looks, but didn’t knock many down until it was too late,” said Misegades.

Henning was led offensively by Teigan Bjerke who scored 17 points, while Logan Kostelecky scored 14 and pulled down seven rebounds. Eli Reinbold just missed on reach double figures as he finished with nine points and four assists.

POINTS: Bjerke 17, Despard 4, Reinbold 9, Umland 6, Kostelecky 14, Bjerke 3, Misegades 4

ASSISTS: Bjerke 2, Despard 1, Reinbold 4, Umland 1, Kostelecky 4, Bjerke 1

REBOUNDS: Bjerke 5, Despard 4, Reinbold 4, Umland 1, Kostelecky 7, Bjerke 2, Misegades 6

STEALS: Despard 1, Reinbold 2, Umland 1, Bjerke 1