State A Preview: The boys are back

For the first time since the 2006 season, the Havre High boys basketball team is going back to the Class A state basketball tournament.

And it is a new and exciting experience for everybody, as second-year head coach Curt Leeds prepares for state with a very young Blue Pony squad. It was an up-and-down regular season for the Ponies who enter the weekend at 7-13 overall. Wins were tough to come by, but the Ponies found a way to punch their ticket into state as a No. 2 seed. The Ponies defeated Browning at the Central A tournament last weekend, but lost to Belgrade by just nine points in the championship game.

The competition will be drastically better this weekend at the Four Seasons arena in Great Falls. But HHS, a team that has three sophomores in the starting lineup, is excited for the opportunity.

“The boys are the ones that got here by coming out and competing,” Leeds said. “But this is a good step for our young kids and the future of Blue Pony basketball; hopefully, this will keep them hungry and wanting to get back to state in the future. But it is great for our seniors to get this chance, too. We are happy to be going, and we are fortunate to be the second game. We will get to watch the game before us and really see what it is like to play in this atmosphere and see what it is like to win and lose in this atmosphere.”

Havre will play Thursday at 2 p.m. when the Ponies take on the Columbia Falls Wildcats. The Wildcats are the No. 1 team out of the Northwest A.

Laurel, No. 1 out of the East, will open the tournament against Stevensville, the No. 2 team out of the Southwest, at 12:30 p.m. Thursday. Dillon, the No. 1 team out of the Southwest, will face Miles City, the No. 2 team out of the East, at 6:30 p.m., and Belgrade, the No. 1 team out of the Central A, will face Polson, the No. 2 team in the Northwest, at 8 p.m.

Stevensville is the defending state champion, while Laurel, Columbia Falls and Belgrade also return after making it to state last year. Havre, Dillon, Miles City and Polson did not make the state weekend a year ago, but the Beavers are perhaps a strong favorite this weekend.

The Wildcats are holding down a 16-4 record this season and will present the Ponies with an extremely tough contest right out of the gate. Things don’t get much easier win or lose as the Ponies will then face either Laurel or Stevensville Friday. But the Ponies are on a favorable side of the bracket, sitting opposite the Beavers.

“I think we are on the better side of the bracket,” Leeds said. “Our first couple of games will be very difficult, win or lose, but to be on the opposite side of Dillon is a big plus. But once you get to state you are playing the best from each conference and we know we have to come out ready to play each and every game. But we are really focused on our first game against Columbia Falls, that is the big one. We can’t really look forward until we take care of the first game, so we are spending most of our time preparing for them.”

Columbia Falls and Havre don’t cross paths in the regular season, but the Ponies were able to prepare with game film and keeping a close eye on box scores.

With that, the Ponies have a pretty solid idea of what to expect from the Wildcats. The Ponies are preparing to face an aggressive zone defense, one that really smothers a team in the half court. But if that isn’t difficult enough to deal with, the Wildcats also trap out of their 1-2-2 and 1-3-1 looks. The Columbia Falls’ defense is similar to what the Ponies saw when they faced conference rival Browning Indians three times this season, but is run by even more athletic players. Going 2-1 against the Indians this year will hopefully have the Ponies entering their first contest with some confidence.

Dane Warp has been the leader of the HHS offense all season long and that will have to continue. His Nearly 24 points per game, 54 percent shooting from the field, and 38 percent shooting from 3-point range will be crucial if the Ponies hope to keep pace with any team. But Kade Rismon, the lone senior starter with Brian Smith out with an injury, is also key in the Ponies’ success. Rismon’s inside presence can give the Ponies another 12-points per game, while both Warp’s and Rismon’s ability to snag rebounds could be a difference maker.

But while Warp and Kade Rismon are consistent in their scoring, the Ponies have waited all season for more individuals to step up. The waiting started to prove worthwhile, as Nate Rismon and Michael Bakke have also started to pick up their production.

“After seeing what Columbia Falls runs with their defense, we have added some new offensive looks to what we run,” Leeds said. “Just some things that put us in a better situation if one of our kids is getting trapped. But we are still preparing how we have all season. It comes down to execution now, we have been getting a lot of shots up during practice, and just doing a little bit of fine tuning.”

The Wildcats’ offense will also be tough for the Ponies to handle on the defensive side of the ball. Alex Presnell, Jayce Fagerland, Ty Morgan, Mason Gedlaman and Jared Trinastich are all very talented players for the Wildcats. And Columbia Falls can score from all over the floor, including from behind the 3-point arc. Presnell knocked down a combined five treys in two wins at the divisional tournament last weekend.

“We are a zone team,” Leeds said. “But we know if things get tight we can still switch to a man late in a game to prevent teams from milking the clock on us. But we know zone is our bread and butter this year, and that is what we are prepared to rely on moving forward.”

Havre, which last won a state championship 20 years ago, will begin the Class A state tournament against Columbia Falls Thursday at 2 p.m. at the Four Seasons Arena in Great Falls. If the Ponies advance, they’ll play in Friday’s semifinal at 6:30 p.m., and if they lose to the Wildcats, they’ll play in a loser-out game Friday at 12:30 p.m. The state tourney runs through Saturday night’s consolation game at 6:30 p.m. and the championship game scheduled for 8 p.m.