Dylan Bainbridge (22 points) and Clint Determan (20 points) provided a powerful one-two punch for the Border West boys’ basketball team on Friday night as they combined for 42 points to lead the Buccaneers to the Section 6A championship with a 65-51 victory over the Henning Hornets at the Otter Fieldhouse in Fergus Falls.
“This was a great game and just fun to be a part of that atmosphere,” said Head Coach Jordon Roos of Border West. “We have a special group of kids and went out and have played so well this whole playoff run so far. We knew they had a lot of shooters and we were going to need to be able to have great contests on them all game which we did. Then we thought we could really attack the paint and score at the rim which we also did a phenomenal job of.”
Determan completed a double-double by pulling down 12 rebounds in the contest. Cole Gilsdorf and Grant Dawson added 9 and 8 points, respectively as the Bucs recorded their 23rd consecutive victory in punching their ticket to the Class A State Boys Basketball Tournament.
Border West went to the free throw line 25 times and made 19 of their foul shots, led by Gilsdorf who hit 7-of-8, including all six of his second half attempts. The Buccaneers shot 54% (22-41) from the field and held a 29-22 edge on the boards.
“Always tough to end a season,” said Henning Head Coach Randy Misegades. “I certainly don’t question our effort. Border West was just flat out better than Henning tonight. They are athletic, physical, skilled, and deep. They were just too much for us. I am proud of our guys. All season we heard outsiders tell us we were not athletic enough, not deep enough, and that we lacked what it took to beat quality teams. Finishing 27-2, with conference and sub-section titles, says a lot about the efforts from our team. We accomplished that with 16 kids playing basketball in grades 9-12 and one of the smallest enrollments in Section 6. Henning Basketball has a proud tradition and high standard for good basketball and high character kids. We expect the next group of kids to step in and continue that excellence.”
Henning was led by 23 points form Mason Hammer who had 3 of their 6 3’s in the game and was a perfect 4-for-4 from the line. Tyson Misegades was also in double figures with 12. Lane Dilly added 7 and Kale Misegades had 6. Henning went 11-for-14 on free throws. Henning struggled to hit their shots, shooting just 33% (17-49) from the field and making only 19% (6/32) of their 3-pointers.
“We want to say a special thank you to our four outgoing seniors: Riley Bode, Carter Dilly, Mason Hammer, and Tyson Misegades,” concluded Coach Misegades. “I’ve been their coach since they showed up in kindergarten and they’ve given a huge part of their life to Henning Basketball. In four years of varsity basketball, they were part of teams that compiled a record of 94-15. I couldn’t be prouder of a group of kids.”
Henning ends their season with a record of 28-2. They saw their 17 game winning streak come to an end with the loss.
Photo credit: Dacia Stiles
Photo credit: Dacia Stiles
Border West (26-2) will open play in the state tournament on Wednesday at Williams Arena on the campus of the University of Minnesota. The time and opponent for the quarterfinal round game will be determined when the seeding is held on Sunday. The Bucs have won 23 straight games.
Photo credit: Dacia Stiles
Photo credit: Dacia Stiles