Fourth ranked Henning improves to 18-2 overall

Logan Kostelecky goes up for two popints during last week’s game against Pillager in Henning. Kostelecky finished the game with 12 points.

By Chad Koenen

Publisher

The Henning Hornets improved to 18-2 overall and pushed its Park Region Conference winning streak to 42 games with a pair of wins last week. The Hornets defeated second place Pillager by a score of 73-57 on Tuesday night, before cruising to an 84-45 win over Sebeka on Friday night to improve to 11-0 in the conference. 

Zack and Devan Wiederich trap a Pillager ball handler during the second half of Tuesday’s game against the Huskies.

The Hornets haven’t lost a conference game since losing a pair of games to the New York Mills Eagles during the 2021-22 season. 

This week the Hornets will host Wadena-Deer Creek on Thursday night, before heading to Moorhead on Saturday to take on Hankinson as part of a tournament. The game between Henning and Hankinson is scheduled to begin at 10 a.m. at Moorhead High School.

Tuesday

Henning hasn’t officially wrapped up its third straight Park Region Conference championship, but it went a long way to securing another title after defeating second place Pillager by a score of 73-57 on Tuesday night.

“Great atmosphere and a really nice crowd in Henning tonight. We put ourselves in good position in the conference standings where we now hold a two game lead over Pillager, having beat them twice head to head,” said head coach Randy Misegades.

The Hornets trailed early as the Huskies came out the gate hot from the floor, but Henning survived that early assault and overtook Pillager midway in the first half. 

“After trailing by 10 early, our guys went on a huge run to lead by 20 at the halftime break. We stretched the lead to 30 at one point late in the game before the reserves took over for both teams,” said Misegades.

Henning held a 44-24 lead at halftime and continued to find success throughout the second half before the reserves closed out the game.

Senior Teigan Bjerke had one of his best games of the season as he scored 31 points on just 13-16 shooting, while also pulling down nine rebounds and finishing in a tie for the lead with five steals.

“Teigan Bjerke was as good as I’ve ever seen him tonight. He was really efficient on the offensive end and scored in a lot of different ways. And defensively, with help from his teammates, he also held Christian Hooge to a total of eight points and only two field goals in the game,” said Misegades.

Logan Kostelecky recorded a double-double with 12 points and 13 rebounds, while Noah Umland had a solid night from the floor with 18 points.

Ryan Despard scored six points, Eli Reinbold scored four points and Dawson Misegades rounded out the scoring with two points. 

POINTS: Bjerke 31, Despard 6, Reinbold 4, Umland 18, Kostelecky 12

ASSISTS: Bjerke 3, Despard 1, Reinbold 3, Kostelecky 5, Bjerke 1, Misegades 1

REBOUNDS: Bjerke 9, Reinbold 8, Umland 2, Kostelecky 13, Bjerke 1, Misegades 4

STEALS: Bjerke 5, Reinbold 5, Umland 1, Bjerke 1

Friday

Henning came away with a dominant win over Sebeka on Friday night by a score of 84-45. The Hornets led by a score of 51-24 at halftime. The team shot 52 percent from the floor and pulled down an impressive 35 rebounds.

Despite the lopsided win, head coach Randy Misegades said Henning will need to get a more consistent effort on both sides of the court moving forward. 

“We’re happy to get a win, but the consistent effort and focus on both ends of the floor was lacking tonight,” he said.

The Hornets were led by Teigan Bjerke who scored 22 points to go along with seven rebounds, while Logan Kostelecky score 21 points on just 9-13 shooting. He also pulled down eight rebounds. 

Noah Umland also had a solid night from the floor as he scored 20 points and had four rebounds.

Ryan Despard scored six points, Eli Reinbold, Todd Bjerke and Dawson Misegades each scored five points to round out the scoring. 

POINTS: Bjerke 22, Despard 6, Reinbold 5, Umland 20, Kostelecky 21, Bjerke 5, Misegades 5

ASSISTS: Bjerke 6, Despard 2, Reinbold 3, Umland 1, Kostelecky 2, Bjerke 3, Misegades 1

REBOUNDS: Bjerke 7, Despard 3, Reinbold 3, Umland 4, Kostelecky 8, Bjerke 3, Wiederich 2, Samuelson 1, Misegades 4

STEALS: Bjerke 1, Despard 2, Reinbold 2, Umland 1, Kostelecky 3, Bjerke 1