Highway 2 sweep in Malta

The Havre High boys and girls basketball teams weren't slated to return from the holiday break until Friday.

But a season-opening snow storm back on Dec. 10 meant the Ponies would have a game earlier in 2011 than originally planned.

And Havre's return to the hardwood didn't go the way either Blue Pony team was hoping Monday night in Malta.

The Havre High girls fell to the defending Class B state champion Malta M-Ettes Monday night, 62-48, while the Pony boys suffered a heartbreaking 51-47 loss to the Mustangs.

The boys game went right down to the wore with Havre trailing by just three points at 50-47. But with just a few ticks left on the clock, Anfernee Standing Rock's game-tying shot was blocked from behind by Daine Stiles, and Havre was forced to Malta on the line, as well as was charged with a technical foul. While the Mustangs made just one of four foul shots in the final 1.5 seconds, it was good enough to ice the game.

Havre started off the game like it had never went on break.

The Ponies led by as many as 14 points in the first half and shot a blistering 68 percent from the floor in the first eight minutes. But the Mustangs mounted a late, first-half comeback and the Ponies only led 31-30 at intermission.

Havre had went cold shooting the ball after the first quarter, and that trend continued in the second half. In the final three quarters combined the Ponies shot just 25 percent from the field and made just six field goals in the second half.

Stiles was a big reason Malta was able to remain unbeaten on the season, scoring a game-high 27 points. Havre got 18 points from Standing Rock, while Logan Connor added 16 points and Drew Kafka chipped in with nine.

The loss to Malta dropped the Ponies to 1-3 on the season, and they will be back in action this weekend with two Central A Conference games. The Pony boys make their lone-awaited home debut on Friday night against Lewistown, then travel to Butte Central on Saturday.

M-Ettes 62, Ponies 48

The Malta girls were riding a 30-game winning streak heading into Monday's make-up game with Havre.

And while the Pony girls hung tough for a while, Malta was able to keep its streak intact on its home floor.

The Ponies fell behind early, but late in the first half, senior Paighton Gilman was able to score on the inside and get Havre to within three points at 25-22.

Havre continued to claw away at the lead in the third quarter, but near the end of the period, Corie Kindall hit a 3-pointer to put the M-Ettes ahead 41-34 heading into the final stanza. And from there, Malta never looked back as Kindall continued to stay red hot, and the Ponies couldn't seem to slow the M-Ette's fourth-quarter charge down.

Kindall poured in 24 points and led three M-Ette's in double figures as Malta improved to 5-0 on the season.

The Ponies got 14 points and a great second-half effort from freshman Payton Filius, while Gilman added 11 points. Jaclyn Evans and Kassala Holdsclaw each scored nine points as HHS fell to 1-3 on the season.

The Pony girls will return to the floor on Friday night with a trip to Lewistown. Havre also plays at home against Butte Central on Saturday.

Monday night's games were male-up games for the season-opening tilts which were postponed due to the Dec. 10 snowstorm which hit the Hi-Line area and forced poor travel conditions.