February 2012 – Dustin Monke

42 Game — This image, taken from the Hettinger County Herald, shows the lack of action that was prevalent during the District 24 boys basketball tournament game that was played Feb. 27, 1992, at Bowman’s Solberg Gymnasium. Regent, a heavy underdog against Hettinger, chose to slow the pace of the game and take advantage of its four-corners offense. What ensued was a contest that likely will never be duplicated.

Curt Honeyman knew the idea was a little crazy.

Then again, it was also so simple he wondered if it also wasn’t the perfect plan.

In the days leading up the 1992 District 24 boys basketball tournament, Honeyman preached patience to his Regent Rangers team.

“Patience to the extreme,” said Scott Sheldon, the Rangers’ sophomore guard and leading scorer that season.

Honeyman’s theory was that if the Rangers could sit in their fourcorners offense long enough, they could force the taller, more talented Hettinger Black Devils into defensive errors, put points on the scoreboard and keep the game from spiraling out of their reach.

On the evening of Feb. 27, 1992, at Solberg Gymnasium in Bowman, Honeyman sent his team onto the court with simple goals: be deliberate and patient on offense and control the tempo.

He never expected, 20 years later, people would remember the game.

Then again, he also never expected the final buzzer to sound with this score: Hettinger 4, Regent 2.

“We knew we couldn’t play with them basket for basket,” Honeyman said. “We had to try and keep the score close and keep it low. But nobody in the gym, including myself, knew that it was going to turn out that way.”

Month: February 2012

Hettinger 4, Regent 2: Players, coaches and officials recall the infamous low-scoring basketball game