By Chad Koenen

Publisher

The Henning Hornets captured their third straight Park Region Conference championship in dominant fashion last week as they outscored the New York Mills Eagles and Verndale Pirates by a combined 172-82 margin. Not only does the win secure a third straight conference title, but it is the third straight undefeated conference season for the Hornets who have pushed their Park Region Conference winning streak to an astounding 45 straight games. 

The Hornets are currently 21-3 overall and have a pair of road games this week as they will travel to Brandon-Evansville on Tuesday, before closing out the regular season on Friday against Underwood. 

Tuesday

Henning forced 26 turnovers and capped off another Park Region Conference championship on Tuesday night as the Hornets defeated the New York Mills Eagles, the last team to defeat Henning in conference action, which happened on Feb. 8, 2022, by a score of 84-36 on Tuesday night. While the Hornets won the conference title for the third straight year, the night also marked the return of junior point guard Kale Misegades who scored 14 points on just 6-10 shooting in his first game action of the season since suffering an injury in a preseason scrimmage. 

“We had great balance and settled into a nice rotation as the game progressed.  Ryan Despard shot it well for us off the bench,” said head coach Randy Misegades. “The best part was seeing Kale Misegades back on the basketball court this evening. His teammates, the coaches, and the fans were excited to get him back. He made a big impact in very limited minutes. We’re excited to see more and more of him in the coming weeks.”

Henning took a 46-19 lead at halftime and continued to hit shots throughout the game as they went 14-33 from behind the 3-point line and proved to be a tough defense to crack for a young Eagle team.

The Hornets were led offensively by Logan Kostelecky who scored 18 points, while Teigan Bjerke recorded a double-double with 17 points and 10 rebounds. Misegades scored 14 points, while Ryan Despard knocked down three 3-pointers to finish the night with 13 points. Noah Umland scored nine points, Mason Samuelson scored six points, Eli Reinbold scored four and Dawson Bushman scored three points in the win. 

POINTS: Bushman 3, Bjerke 17, Despard 13, Reinbold 4, Misegades 14, Umland 9, Kostelecky 18, Samuelson 6

ASSISTS: Thorson 1, Bjerke 5, Reinbold 4, Misegades 1, Umland 5, Kostelecky 3, Wiederich 2, Misegades 2

REBOUNDS: Thorson 1, Wiederich 2, Bjerke 10, Despard 2, Reinbold 4, Misegades 3, Umland 2, Kostelecky 5, Bjerke 3, Samuelson 1, Misegades 4

STEALS: Bjerke 1, Despard 3, Reinbold 3, Umland 4, Kostelecky 5, Bjerke 1, Samuelson 1, Misegades 2

Friday

Ten Hornets reached the scoring column as Henning put an exclamation point on another undefeated season in the Park Region Conference on Friday night. The Hornets defeated the Verndale Pirates by a 88-46 margin to come away with their third straight undefeated Park Region Conference season and championship. 

In addition to their final regular season home game, it was autograph night for the Hornets who took time to thank fans for their support from throughout the season, as well as provide an opportunity for several youth basketball teams to play at halftime of the games. 

“Tonight was our last regular season home game and also our youth/autograph night. The atmosphere in the gym was really fun,” said head coach Randy Misegades. “We had all of our K-6 youth players in the gym and had a ton of fun interacting with everyone. We have so many parents and volunteers involved with our basketball program to make it successful and tonight was no different.”

Henning jumped out to an early lead as they shot 53 percent from the field and led 49-13 at the halftime break. Henning had 25 team assists on 37 made shots, while also coming away with nine steals on the defensive end of the court. 

The Hornets dominated the Pirates on the boards as Henning outrebounded Verndale by a 42-14 margin. Henning also held Verndale to just 33 percent shooting from the field, while the Pirates were able to stay in the game due to the 3-point shot as they hit nine of them in the game. 

“Our guys didn’t disappoint as they played very well. The ball moved better than it has all season. Although we didn’t shoot the ball particularly well, we shared it and got a lot of guys involved,” said Misegades. 

Three Hornets reached double figures with Teigan Bjerke scoring 22 points on just 10-13 shooting and finishing with eight rebounds. Kale Misegades knocked down a pair of 3-pointers to finish with 17 points and seven rebounds, while Logan Kostelecky continued his solid senior season with another double-double by scoring 12 points, pulling down 10 rebounds and finishing with six assists.

Dawson Misegades scored nine points, Noah Umland scored seven points, Ryan Despard scored six points, Beck Thorson scored six points after hitting a pair of 3-pointers, Eli Reinbold scored four points, Zack Wiederich scored three points and Todd Bjerke rounded out the scoring with two points. 

POINTS: Thorson 6, Bjerke 22, Despard 6, Reinbold 4, Misegades 17, Umland 7, Kostelecky 12, Bjerke 2, Wiederich 3, Misegades 9

ASSISTS: Thorson 1, Bjerke 3, Reinbold 6, Misegades 4, Umland 3, Kostelecky 6, Wiederich 1, Samuelson 1

REBOUNDS: Bushman 1, Wiederich 1, Bjerke 8, Despard 1, Reinbold 5, Misegades 7, Umland 5, Kostelecky 10, Bjerke 1, Suchy 1, Misegades 2

STEALS: Reinbold 1, Misegades 2, Umland 2, Kostelecky 1, Bjerke 1, Suchy 1, Misegades 1