Hills-Beaver Creek defeated previously undefeated Henning 71-67 in overtime to advance to Saturday’s state championship at noon.

Coming up next: Red Lake County vs. Janesville-Waldorf-Pemberton in the second semifinal.

Here’s more of what you need to know about the state tournament:

• Everything that happened on Day 3 (4A, 3A semifinals and 1A quarterfinals
• Everything that happened on Day 2 (3A & 2A quarterfinals)
• Everything that happened on Day 1 (4A & 2A quarterfinals)

View the complete brackets for 4A, 3A, 2A and 1A and follow live scores on our boys basketball hub.

. . .

Pregame: J-W-P vs. Red Lake County

Class 1A semifinals

One spot has been filled in the Class 1A boys basketball state final game. Who will take on Hills-Beaver Creek for the title? We’ll find out today at Williams Arena.

No. 2 seed Janesville-Waldorf-Pemberton (J-W-P) is about to tip-off against No. 3 seed Red Lake County for a shot at Saturday’s state title-deciding game.

The Bulldogs beat Cherry 81-72 to get here, largely thanks to the Bauer brothers. Senior guard Daulton Bauer will look to bring both his ball control and his scoring ways into this semifinal game. The senior put up 39 points in the quarterfinal game on Thursday and his brother Gavin scored 32. Daulton and junior guard Gavin Bauer brought J-W-P to the state championship after a 17-year dry spell and have been dreaming about it since they were kids. Growing up playing basketball in their backyard, the duo used to yell: “Three, two, one: state championship!” The two hope to make that a reality this week.

Red Lake County won’t go down easy after losing in the state semifinals last year in the Rebels’ first ever trip to state. The team has a few things in its favor, including senior guards Connor Duden and Will Gieseke’s ability to find the basket. Gieseke put up 25 points in Thursday’s 85-63 quarterfinal game.

Stay tuned for updates as the state final match-up is determined, but first, go here to see which team Strib Varsity predicted will win the game

— Olivia Hicks

Hills-Beaver Creek ends Henning’s bid at undefeated championship season

Class 1A semifinals

Micah Bush had 20 points, five rebounds and five assists to lead No. 5 seed Hills-Beaver Creek to an upset over No. 1 seed Henning, 71-67, in the Class 1A semifinals at Williams Arena.

The Patriots, who are playing in their first state tournament, gave the Hornets (31-1) their first loss of the season.

Kale Misegades, who finished with 32 points and 12 rebounds, sent the game into overtime when he tied it at 61-61, but his three-pointer in the final seconds of overtime fell short. Henning was chasing its first state title since 2019.

Jamin Metzger, who had 13 points and 10 rebounds, hit two free throws for a 69-65 Hills-Beaver Creek lead with 22 seconds left in overtime. Brodie Metzger also finished with 13 points and 11 rebounds. Riggins Rheault also added 15 points for the Patriots (29-3).

— Marcus Fuller

Hills-Beaver Creek takes lead in OT

Class 1A semifinals

Patriots fans were shocked to see Henning’s Kale Misegades score with seconds winding down to send the game into overtime in the first Class A semifinal.

Hills-Beaver Creek wouldn’t let Misegades take control in the extra period. Jamin and Brodie Metzger scored on back-to-back layups to make it 67-63 with 1:38 left in overtime.

The Hornets were in desperation mode, but they forced a turnover with less than a minute to play to pull within 67-65 on a Misegades layup.

— Marcus Fuller

Kale Misegades sends the game into OT for Henning

Class 1A semifinals

Henning’s undefeated season was on the line. Hills-Beaver Creek was trying to reach its first state title game in program history. Fans on both sides were tense in the final 23 seconds.

The Hornets thought it got a defensive stop after a deflection, but the ball was caught by Karson Metzger, who scored a layup with nine seconds left.

After the ball was handed to him off the inbounds pass, Kale Misegades wouldn’t let his team fall in regulation. The 6-3 senior drove the ball through a few defenders to score with a second remaining to send the game into overtime tied 61-61.

Misegades has 26 points.

— Marcus Fuller

Can Henning keep undefeated season alive?

Class 1A semifinals

Easton Misegades made the biggest shot of the game with a three-pointer to tie it 59-59 with 43 seconds left.

The Hornets relied on senior star Kale Misegades all season to pull them through. Misegades went to the foul line trailing by four points, but he went 1-for-2 to make it 59-56 with 1:25 to play.

Sophomore Brodie Metzger drilled a three-pointer to give Hills-Beaver Creek a 58-55 lead with 2:33 left in today’s Class A semifinal vs. Henning. The Patriots added a free throw to give them their biggest lead of the second half.

— Marcus Fuller

HBC puts pressure on undefeated Henning

Class 1A semifinals

Henning coach Randy Misegades practically stood in game action trying to direct his son, Kale, on a play to get some cushion against Hills-Beaver Creek down the stretch.

The result was a missed shot.

It was too close to call with the Hornets leading 53-52 with under five minutes to play. They’ve never lost a game this season at 31-0, but this was to get to their first state title game since 2019.

After a timeout, HBC called a play that had a similar poor outcome with a turnover. The nerves are showing in crunch time, but on the ensuing possession, the Patriots took a 55-53 lead on a three-pointer from Micah Bush with four minutes to play.

— Marcus Fuller

Former Mr. Football finalist tries to get his basketball team to state final

Class 1A semifinals

Hills-Beaver Creek’s Micah Bush was a top 10 finalist for the Minnesota Mr. Football Award in the fall, but his efforts on the hardcourt is putting his basketball team in position for a state championship berth.

Bush, who had nine points in the first half of today’s semifinal, scored five points in the second half to help the Patriots take the lead. His assist to fellow football teammate Jamin Metzger made it 50-47 HBC with just under nine minuets to play.

The competition for 2025 Mr. Football was tough. See who Bush competed with for the honor, which went to Jackson County Central’s Roman Voss.

— Marcus Fuller

Henning and Hills-Beaver Creek locked in back-and-forth battle

Class 1A semifinals

Henning took a five-point lead to start the second half with Kale Misegades scoring his 17th point on a jumper a few minutes into the period, but Hills-Beaver Creek used a 5-0 run to tie it 37-37.

That’s pretty much how the start of the second half would go for both teams, with several lead changes over an eight-minute period.

Micah Bush gave the Patriots a 41-39 lead at the 14:04 mark, but Misegades tied the game on a layup on the next possession for Henning.

The Hornets trailed again a minute before Easton Misegades’ three-pointer made it 44-42 with 12:48 left in the second half.

Both teams were shooting over 50% from the field at that point.

— Marcus Fuller

Halftime: Henning 33, Hills-Beaver Creek 31

Class 1A semifinals

Henning, the No. 1 team in Class 1A, won by an average margin of 30 points and averaged nearly 80 points per game entering the state tournament.

The Hornets, though, found themselves having a tough time pulling away in the last three games, including a 72-61 win vs. Park Christian in the Section 6 final and a 61-45 win vs. Upsala in the state quarterfinals.

In the first half today, Hills-Beaver Creek twice took the lead, including 31-30 on Jamin Metzger’s layup with 1:18 left. It took a three-pointer from Beck Thorson to keep Henning ahead at halftime.

Kale Misegades leads the Hornets with 15 points on 5-for-7 shooting. The Patriots are being led by Micah Bush with nine points on 4-for-6 field goals.

— Marcus Fuller

Misegades can’t be stopped but HBC takes brief lead

Class 1A semifinals

Hills-Beaver Creek tried to keep Henning star Kale Misegades from dominating the first half of today’s semifinal, but that was a tall task for any defender.

The 6-3 senior guard’s movement without the ball is Steph Curry-like, getting himself open from beyond the arc or for mid-range jumpers off ball screens. Misegades scored his 15th point to give the Hornets a 28-22 lead around the four-minute mark.

That didn’t keep Hills-Beaver Creek from fighting back to take the 29-28 lead after a 7-0 run was capped by Micah Bush with a layup less than two minutes remaining.

Beck Thorson’s three-pointer late in the first half helped Henning answer to lead 33-31.

— Marcus Fuller

1A: Metzger boys get Hills-Beaver Creek back into the game

Class 1A semifinals

Jamin and Karson Metzger scored eight straight points for Hills-Beaver Creek during a run to cut within 17-16 after a layup from Karson with 8:41 to play in the first half.

Henning’s Kale Misegades was the first player in the game to get into double figures with 10 points, including his second three-pointer to give his team a seven-point lead early.

The Hornets couldn’t stretch their lead with HBC’s size advantage as a factor. The Patriots cut it to a two-point deficit on a three-pointer from Micah Bush, but Henning answered with a shot from beyond the arc from Todd Bjerke to make it 23-19 at 5:39 to play in the half.

— Marcus Fuller

Football champion HBC looking to play in hoops state final

Class 1A semifinals

Hills-Beaver Creek was one of two schools that made the state basketball tournament this year after winning Prep Bowl titles in football in the fall.

The Patriots are the only ones still standing after Jackson County Central lost in the quarterfinals, but you can read about their journey to state here:

— Marcus Fuller

Three-point barrage to open semifinal matchup

Class 1A semifinals

Four of the first six field goals for Hills-Beaver Creek and Henning were three-pointers in today’s semifinal matchup at Williams Arena.

Senior guard Kale Misegades, a member of Strib Varsity’s 2026 All-Minnesota team, hit his first shot from beyond the arc to spark a 10-2 run for Henning to start the game.

Hills-Beaver Creek got its second three-pointer of the contest from Riggins Rheault to make it 10-8 with 13:20 left in the first half.

— Marcus Fuller

Pregame: Henning vs. Hills-Beaver Creek

Class 1A semifinals

Top-seeded Henning (31-0) rolls into today’s semifinals at Williams Arena against No. 5 Hills-Beaver Creek, continuing its quest to be the first Class 1A team to win the title and go undefeated since Belgrade-Brooten-Elrosa was 33-0 in 2012. The Hornets got 35 points and 16 rebounds from Mr. Basketball finalist Kale Misegades in a quarterfinal win vs. Upsala.

Hills-Beaver Creek (28-3) defeated No. 4 Southland 72-69 in a tightly-contested quarterfinal matchup of two programs in their first state tournament appearance, which also snapped Southland’s 23-game winning streak.

The Patriots were led by Jamin and Brodie Metzger with a combined 55 points and 13 rebounds to advance to the semifinals.

— Marcus Fuller

The system has leveled the playing field for small schools. There’s just not as much glory. Or mingling.

Class 1A semifinals

Preschool kiddos at a high school basketball pep fest?

It might not be a common sight at big-city high schools.

But there they were in the Henning school on Wednesday, benches full of chubby-cheeked urchins, holding their handmade signs-on-a-stick and cheering the boys basketball team that was on its way once again this year to the state tournament in the Twin Cities. By Thursday, March 26, Henning had advanced to the semifinals.

This is what happens in small-town school districts. Henning, population 854, only has one school for grades K-12, so the youngest kids get a taste of the excitement, too. Everyone goes to the pep fest.

From around the state, seven of Minnesota’s smallest rural schools are sending their boys basketball teams to state this week. They’re coming from all corners of Minnesota - the Arrowhead, the Iowa state line, the northwest, central, spittin’ distance from South Dakota, and from Henning, which is in my own backyard in Otter Tail County. They will get the chance, this week, to see who is crowned the best of the little schools.

Continue reading Karen Tolkkinen’s column: I kind of wish rural schools still played against the Blaines and Wayzatas

Go here to see which team Strib Varsity predicted will win the game