The Holcomb Hornets fell to Bernie on homecoming night after facing a deluge of player injuries on Friday, Feb. 2, 2024.

Rescheduled due to the snow and ice that fell last month, Holcomb's homecoming matchup was originally set to be against Risco on Jan. 19, but the Hornets ultimately fell to Bernie 52-26.

“We knew coming in that Bernie was going to play a half court game and slow it down,” said Holcomb head coach John Hixson. “They're well-disciplined, well-coached and fundamentally they're good. We knew we'd have to play really well.”

Holcomb's Noah Kenner, top shot of the night for the Hornets, opened the game with a layup but Bernie's Chase Guiling and Cody Massey both sank three-pointers immediately to follow which set the scene for the evening.

Holcomb's Lucas Patterson tossed up a long range shot after a timeout but another by Bernie's Taven Owens ended the first quarter with the Mules up 15-9.

“We are dealing with a lot of injuries at this point,” Hixson explained. “We've got five ankle sprains at this point, and another who has had to miss with a hip issue. We are a little short staffed, but we're just trying to heal and get better for the conference and district tournaments.”

With Holcomb still very much in the game, Bernie dashed to a 6-2 run starting the second quarter, but Holcomb's Kenner cut the guests' traction short with another three-point shot.

Holcomb's Noah Kenner (2) attempts a three-point shot during a game against Bernie Friday, Feb. 2, 2024.Photo by Christian Johnson

With Bernie head coach Jason Long chanting “No open shots, no second shots,” from the bench, the Mules' persistent rebounding and pressing defense resulted in outscoring Holcomb 13-5. At halftime, Bernie had pulled to a 28-14 advantage.

Kenner, again, opened play in the second half but Bernie quickly ran away for an extra 11 points. Bernie's Cade Arnold answered Kenner's distance shot with back-to-back-to-back two point plays before three others got in on the action. Holcomb's Lucas Patterson managed a lay in to end it and Bryce McNabb got a layup at the buzzer but Bernie had pulled away for a 39-20 lead.

“I think we're just a step behind, whether it's our injuries or us just not playing as hard as we need to,” Hixson said. “In the first half, we were getting some good looks. We weren't shooting too many forced or quick shots, we just weren't hitting much. It's one of those nights where it just didn't fall for us.”

Arnold opened the fourth quarter and eventually added another six points to his total, which was assisted by a three-pointer shot by Taven Owens. Holcomb managed just six in total in two-point plays by three players before the final buzzer.

For Bernie, Cade Arnold was top-scorer with 16 points and Jon Aycock followed closely with 15. Jayden Robinette, Taven Owens and Chase Guiling all scored six apiece.

Noah Kenner led the Hornets with 11 points, Lucas Patterson followed with five, Devin Kelley and Bryce McNabb each added four, and Landon Smith chipped in two.

Battling through the injuries, Holcomb plays in the Tri-County Conference tournament this week, in which the Hornets are the fourth seed. Holcomb plays fifth-seeded Clarkton today at 7:45 p.m.

Bernie hosts Hayti Tuesday with a JV game starting at 6 p.m.