Sixth ranked Hornets to face second ranked Vikings on Saturday

Photo by Chad Koenen
Kale Misegades lines up a shot during a recent game in Henning. He scored 25 points last week.

By Chad Koenen

Publisher

The sixth ranked Henning Hornets picked up a big 72-55 win over one of the top teams in the conference on Friday night in the Pillager Huskies. 

“Good win for our guys in front of a really nice crowd at home,” said head coach Randy Misegades. “We started slow, battled some foul trouble, and got a little sloppy at times. But, the guys stuck together and took care of business.”

In a rather close game throughout the first half, Henning pulled away late in the half to lead 33-20 at the break. They continued to battle a tough Pillager team down the stretch with a pair of juniors coming up big from behind the 3-point line. 

Beck Thorson scored 21 points on just 8-11 shooting, including five 3-pointers, while Zack Wiederich scored 15 points on just 5-8 shooting including three 3-pointers in the game. 

“Beck Thorson and Zack Wiederich were big for us in this game and very efficient offensively. Kale gets so much attention that we need those guys looking for their own shot like they did tonight,” said Misegades. “With Ryan Despard on the bench most of the game in foul trouble, Beck and Zack picked up the slack.”

Kale Misegades led the charge offensively with a double-double as the senior scored 25 points and pulled down 16 defensive rebounds. He also finished with a team-high eight assists. 

Todd Bjerke scored eight points to go along with eight rebounds, while Ryan Despard rounded out the scoring with three points. 

In addition to a solid night on the offensive end of the court, Misegades credited Dawson Bushman and Bjerke for their defensive pressure as being one of the keys to pulling out the win. 

“Even though it won’t show up in the box score, Dawson Bushman and Todd Bjerke were our best two defensive players tonight,” he said. 

This week the Hornets traveled to Menahga on Monday for a makeup game from the Braves, before traveling to Concordia College in Moorhead on Saturday to take on second ranked and fellow Section 6A team Pelican Rapids in a match up between a pair of top six ranked teams.

POINTS: Wiederich 15, Bjerke 8, Despard 3, Thorson 21, Misegades 25

ASSISTS: Wiederich 1, Bushman 4, Bjerke 2, Despard 1, Thorson 1, Misegades 8

REBOUNDS: Wiederich 6, Bushman 5, Bjerke 8, Despard 1, Thorson 1, Misegades 16

STEALS: Bushman 2, Bjerke 1, Misegades 2