Havre High set for round two at Rocky Boy

With just two games left in the regular season, both the Havre High boys and girls basketball teams are heading for the finish line, each playing one nonconference game this weekend, followed by the regular season finales next week against conference-rival Browning Indians.

But this should be a stress free weekend for both the Central A Blue Pony squads.

Both teams will play in Rocky Boy Saturday night. The HHS girls (6-1, 10-6) will face the Morning Stars at 5 p.m., followed by the HHS boys (4-3, 6-10) facing the Stars at 6:30 p.m.

Under the guidance of head coach Dustin Kraske, the Pony girls will go for the two-game sweep over the Morning Stars this season. Playing in Havre, the Ponies defeated the Morning Stars 69-44, running Rocky Boy out of the gym with easy buckets in transition and an abundance of wide open 3-pointers. Brandy Lambourne finished with 20 points, while the Ponies were led by Peyton Filius with 21. Chanal Standing Rock paced the Morning Stars with 14.

“We know they run a 2-3 zone on defense,” Kraske said. “So we will practice for that and be ready for that. But we are going to also have to play better defensively ourselves after our last outing, which I know we will do. We have to stay in the passing lanes and be aggressive, we can’t settle for letting them throw the ball around and take the shots they want, we want them to take the shots we want them to take.”

If the Ponies can impose their will on the Morning Stars, Standing Rock won’t be a factor. Standing Rock leads the team in scoring and is a standout shooter from behind the arc. If the Ponies can force her into tough shots, while also forcing the underclassmen on the roster to carry the load, it could mean another lopsided victory for the Ponies. And Havre isn’t looking to do anything out of the ordinary. The defense will press the Morning Stars with several different defensive looks, while the offense houses the ability to come from anybody Kraske puts on the floor. Coming off of a 63-37 loss to Fairfield, followed by a 56-48 loss to Lewistown, the Blue Ponies will look to get both the offense and defense back on track this weekend.

The HHS boys are also looking to get back on track against a Stars’ team that defeated the Ponies 66-50 in Havre last month. It was a tough loss just after the Ponies played their best game of the season, defeating Browning 76-50.

Havre didn’t handle the Stars’ press defense particularly well. And Rocky Boys’ run and gun style of offense made an appearance as the Ponies simply committed too many turnovers and were forced into too many low quality shots. Dane Warp did finish with 28 points, but the offense was too spread out. Kade Rismon finished with nine, while four other individuals combined for another 13.

Rocky Boy had four double-digit scorers, including Cecil Lafromboise with 21 and Desmond Parker with 17.

“Rocky Boy pressed us a lot when we played them up here (at home),” Havre High head coach Curt Leeds said. “But we have been much better at breaking the press this year. I don’t think too many teams have had much success against us with their press because our kids are doing better at finding the gaps in the zone. We also have more height this year, so it makes it easier for us to make passes over the press.”

It will be key for the Ponies to get consistent scoring against the press. Warp could have another big game, but other scorers like Kade Rismon, Nate Rismon, Brian Smith and Jase Kato also need solid production. Havre also runs a solid press with their different zone looks on defense, and will look to slow the Stars down, slowing down the easy layups in transition.

More importantly, the Ponies hope this game gets them even more prepared for the rematch with the Indians next weekend.

“Their styles aren’t the same, but they are similar,” Leeds said. “It will be a good game for our boys to experience because it is on the road in a tough atmosphere, and like I said, it will just be very similar to what we will have to deal with and play against when we face Browning.”

Both Havre teams will play in Rocky Boy Saturday night. The HHS girls (6-1, 10-6) will face the Morning Stars at 5 p.m., followed by the HHS boys (4-3, 6-10) facing the Stars at 6:30 p.m.