New York Mills Eagles

Henning, the 2019 Class 1A state champions, pushed top-seeded New York Mills near the end of the Sub-Section 6A-North boys' basketball finals on Tuesday at Perham high school after trailing 50-30 with 10 minutes remaining. The Hornets went on a 20-2 run to close it to 52-50 before the Eagles pulled away late to win 65-60.

Henning senior Tanner Arndt finished with a game-high 35 points, and the Hornets finished 23-6.

Just as the B-B-E vs. Hancock game started out, the opening minutes of the game at Perham on Tuesday were a battle. Henning took an initial 5-0 lead, and it took over four minutes before the Eagles scored their first points. After Henning had an 8-7 lead, the Eagles went on a 15-0 run and led 31-21 at halftime.

NYM, the No. 2-ranked team in Class 1A in the final Minnesota Basketball News state poll, is 28-1 going into the section finals. They are a very experienced team with 7 seniors. Against Henning, they were led by a 22-point, 13-rebound effort from senior Tate Olson. Next was Jack Peters with 13 points, and Breck Hensch was also in double figures with 10 points. Hensch also sparked the Eagles with three three-pointers in the first half.

In the Sub-Section 6A-North semifinals against Battle Lake last Saturday, the Eagles went 19-of-24 at the free throw line in a 69-44 win at Perham. Tate Olson was a perfect 10-for-10 at the line while pouring in 31 points plus 13 rebounds. New York Mills deployed a 1-3-1 zone press that rattled Battle Lake and helped propel them to an initial 32-4 lead late in the first half. The press helped force a whopping 31 turnovers by the Battlers. New York Mills scoring against Battle Lake: Tate Olson 31 (10 reb 4 ast 7 stl); Jonah Johnson 21 (5 reb 9 stl); Noah Noffsinger 8 (4 reb 4 ast); Jack Peeters (7 reb); Breck Hensch 5 (4 reb).

In their playoff opener last week, the Eagles thrashed Park Christian 79-34 with Olson leading the way with 29 points, 9 rebounds and 6 assists. Other box score notes: Jack Peters (7 points, 9 ast); Noah Noffsinger (6 points, 4 reb, 3 ast); Jonah Johnson (13 points); Bryan Bohn (7 points, 4 reb); Breck Hensch (6 points, 4 reb).

The closest regular season win for NYM was by a 58-56 score in overtime at Henning in the teams' first meeting on January 11 in Henning. Cherry, who is in the Section 7A championship game, lost to NYM 65-62 at Walker on December 30. Beyond those wins, NYM dominated in most of their wins this season. Their only loss was at Hancock by a 67-60 score on January 22.

Last season, NYM went 17-3 while losing in the Sub-Section 6A-North finals to undefeated Mahnomen/Waubun by a 75-72 score. Hancock then defeated M/W in the section finals on their way to a Class 1A state runner-up finish. The Eagles won the Park Region Conference title last year with a 12-1 record. They were a fourth-place team in the Park Region two years ago and went 1-1 in the postseason.