Hononegah Indians win the 4A regional 64-57 over NIC 10 champ Guilford

Coming into tonight's contest on Feb. 23, 2024, Guilford had beaten every NIC 10 boys basketball team, including Hononegah two times this year. But Friday was a different Indian basketball team.

The team came out stroking it from deep as well as tipping, jumping, and harassing the Vikings into quick shots, bad shots, and lots of turnovers. The Indians outscored Guilford  19-11 in the first. The gym had a buzz of nervousness in it. Everyone saw a different look in the Hononegah Indians. The 2nd quarter saw the Indians make some big-time shots and build a double-digit lead. Halftime score: 32-21 Hononegah. After halftime Guilford came out of the locker room with a better feel for what Hononegah was doing and had a nice run, but a late 3rd quarter run gave Hononegah a 13-point lead going into the fourth: 43-30. Andy Gannon was on the radio call for mostly90s.com and he pointed out that Guilford had not expected this out of this Hononegah team. But Hononegah is filled with kids with pride, who know how to win big games and play in big spots.

The 4th quarter almost became an Atlanta Falcons level collapse for the Indians. All of a sudden, the Vikings couldn’t miss and Hononegah turned the ball over more then any other time in the game. Guilford got within 2 but the final 5 points were scored by the Indians at the free throw line and they iced the game, winning 64-57.

The 4A regional champs will now head to Guilford for the sectional portion of the IHSA March Madness tourney. Hononegah will meet the 2 seed McHenry out of the Fox Valley conference. Tip off is set from Rock Valley College at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, February 28, 2024.

Thanks to the Hononegah Boys Basketball on Twiter/X, IHSA, and Andy Gannon for the information and images used in the story.