Hanover Wildcat Boys Basketball

The Hanover Wildcats started the season off ranked number one in Class 1A-Division I and finished the season sitting a top the perch as State Champions for the fifth time in school history.

Wildcats went into the State Tournament as the only team in the bracket with less than six losses and only had one blemish on their record. To open the State tournament, Hanover took on Pretty Prairie and cruised to the 83-37 win using a 27-10 first quarter to take early control and grab the win to move into the State Semifinals. Sophomore, Will Bruna led the way with 16 points, while Trey Loshe added 12 points, Cody Rengstorf chipped in 11 points and Hunter Nicholson scored 10 points.

In the Semifinals, Hanover squared off with Hartford and cruised to another win, notching the 65-37 victory. The Wildcats started the game with a 21-6 first quarter and shot a blistering 57.8% from the floor in the win as Will Bruna led the way again with 16 points, while Andrew Bruna added 13 points.

A familiar foe faced the Wildcats in the State Championship as the squared off with fellow Twin Valley League team, Doniphan West. The Mustangs kept things close in the first half, as Hanover led just 19-17 at halftime but the Wildcats got hot in the third quarter and posted a 27-10 quarter to take the lead and ultimately win the game 58-36.

The win was Hanover’s 25^th on the season as they capped off the year 25-1 and the 1A-DI State Champs, claiming their first State title since 2010 and fifth in school history, all coming in the last 18 years. The Wildcats also finished TVL unbeaten to win the regular season League title (12-0), while winning their fifth TVL tournament title, too (all five coming in the last seven years).

A balanced attack and senior laden team the Wildcats had five players average 8 to 10 points per game and won 21 of their 25 wins by double figures.

The Wildcats put a final stamp on a season to remember coming into the season as a favorite to make a run at the State title and did just that bring the hardware home for the trophy case.