By Chad Koenen

Publisher

The Henning Hornets continued their stranglehold on the Park Region Conference last week with a commanding 78-16 win over the Menahga Braves. The win improved the Hornets to 16-2 overall and 9-0 in the Park Region Conference. 

In a dominating performance on the defensive side of the court, Henning surrendered just six points in the first half and held the Braves to just 18 percent shooting from the field. They also managed to force 30 Menahga turnovers to secure the commanding win.

“It was nice to get everyone in the game tonight for extended minutes. We had significant contributions from a lot of people,” said head coach Randy Misegades. “Ryan Despard, Devan Wiederich, and Mason Samuelson led a great effort from our bench tonight, and Trevor Arndt got his first career varsity points as he drilled a three in the second half.”

Leading by a score of 49-6 at halftime, the Henning bench got extensive action in the final 18 minutes of the game as 12 Hornet players reached the scoring column. 

As a team the Hornets shot 46 percent from the floor and went 13-21 from the free throw line. They also pulled down 34 rebounds, had 25 assists on 28 made shots from the floor and finished with 22 steals in all.

Logan Kostelecky finished with 19 points and 13 rebounds to lead the charge for the Hornets, while Teigan Bjerke scored 11 points and finished with seven rebounds. 

Henning senior Dawson Misegades had a solid night from the floor as he went 5-6 shooting to finish with 12 points, while Ryan Despard scored eight points, Dawson Bushman scored seven points, Eli Reinbold scored six points, Noah Umland scored four points, Beck Thorson and Trevor Arndt both scored three points, Todd Bjerke and  Zach Wiederich scored two points apiece and Devan Wiederich scored one point in the win. 

This week the Hornets will host Pillager on Tuesday night, before traveling to Sebeka on Friday night in a pair of Park Region Conference games. Pillager comes into Tuesday’s game with a record of 8-1 in the conference, their lone loss coming to the Hornets by a score of 60-52 on December 13, and 11-6 overall. Sebeka is 3-7 in the conference and 6-10 overall. 

POINTS: Thorson 3, Bushman 7, Wiederich 1, Bjerke 11, Despard 8, Reinbold 6, Umland 4, Arndt 3, Kostelecky 19, Bjerke 2, Wiederich 2, Misegades 12

ASSISTS: Thorson 1, Wiederich 1, Bjerke 4, Despard 1, Reinbold 5, Umland 1, Kostelecky 7, Bjerke 1, Wiederich 1, Samuelson 3

REBOUNDS: Thorson 1, Bushman 1, Bjerke 7, Despard 1, Reinbold 3, Umland 2, Kostelecky 13, Bjerke 1, Suchy 1, Misegades 4

STEALS: Thorson 1, Bushman 1, Wiederich 1, Bjerke 4, Reinbold 1, Umland 2, Arndt 1, Kostelecky 4, Samuelson 5, Misegades 2