Ponies down Eagles, Cowboys

It was an exciting weekend for the Havre High boys basketball team. Not only did the Blue Ponies continue their early-season dominance in the Central A Conference, but HHS also scored a last-second victory for the second time this season.

The weekend started in Conrad Friday as the Ponies took on the Cowboys in non-conference action. And in a game that came down the final seconds, Havre needed some late-game heroics from Nate Rismon to escape with the 55-53 win.

With the score tied at 53-53 and just seconds left on the clock, Havre was holding for the last shot. In the end, Dane Warp attempted what would have been the game-winner, but the shot was no good, falling off the rim into the waiting arms of Rismon, who put it back in as time expired to give HHS the dramatic victory.

"We set things up for Dane to take the final shot," HHS head coach Curt Leeds said. "He ended up missing the shot but (Nate) Rismon did what he was supposed to do on that play when Dane shoots and that's crash the boards. He got the rebound and put it back in. It was really close but it looked like he got it off just in time.

"Dane put up the shot, so I just went and crashed the boards and threw it up because there wasn't much time left and it went in," Rismon added. "I was pretty excited because that was my first buzzer beater."

The Ponies brought a 5-1 record and No. 2 Class A ranking to Conrad, but the Cowboys were not intimidated and grabbed an 18-15 lead at the end of the first quarter. Yet, Havre flexed its muscle in the second, outscoring Conrad 14-4 to give HHS a 29-21 halftime lead.

However, the Cowboys refused to quit. And in the third, their offense got going. Conrad ended up scoring 21 points in the quarter to trim the lead down to 46-42. Then, after a back-and-forth battle over the final eight minutes, the game was tied at 53-53, setting the stage for Rismon’s buzzer beater.

"The one thing about this team is they just seem to find a way to win games," Leeds said. "It doesn't really matter what happens or what situation we are in, we just believe that we have enough good players to find a way to get the job done."

Warp led the Ponies in the win with a team-high 19 points. Rismon finished with 16 points, including two 3-pointers and Jerod Boles contributed with 12.

Shane Larson gave Havre all it could handle defensively and poured in a game-high 22 points. Clark Judich added 11 and Kyle Murack pitched in with 10 for the Cowboys.

After the exhilarating win over Conrad, Havre returned home Saturday to take on Central A rival Lewistown inside the HHS gymnasium. And despite some struggles early on, the Ponies cruised to a 63-42 win.

The game was Havre's first at home since mid-December, and the Ponies were up to the challenge.

The game was tight early between the Ponies and Eagles as Havre held an 11-5 lead at the end of the first quarter, thanks to an old-fashioned 3-point play by Rismon with five seconds to go.

HHS tried to pull away in the second but two treys by Hunter Errecart kept the Eagles within striking distance at 21-15 with 3:58 remaining in the first half. Havre answered with three free throws from Rismon and a two from Warp, and suddenly it was 26-17 at the intermission.

A triple early in the third from Rismon pushed the lead to 31-17 but Errecart answered with one of his own minutes later to get Lewistown back within 10 at 32-22 with 2:41 left in the quarter. That's when Havre put the game out of reach.

Havre got five quick points following a 3-point play by Boles and a two from Warp. Moments later,

Havre got another 3-point play, this time from Wyatt Lindbloom to give the Ponies a commanding 40-22 lead. Lewistown never got within single digits again and the Ponies cruised in the fourth quarter to the 21-point win.

Warp led the way again for Havre with a game-high 18 points. Jacob LaBrie came up big with 11, all in the second half, while Rismon added 10. Errecart was the only Eagle to reach double figures in scoring with 12 points in defeat.

The win pushed Havre to 7-1 overall and 3-0 in the Central A, good enough for first place.

Now, the Ponies will travel to Browning this Friday to try and make it 4-0 against the only team in the conference they have yet to play. The Ponies will take on Browning at 7 p.m. Friday before heading to Rocky Boy this Saturday for a showdown with the Stars at 6:30 p.m.

"It's a good thing for us to be 3-0 in the Central A but it doesn't mean much to be in first in the middle of the year," Leeds said. "Our goal is to continue to get better each and every game and hopefully play our best basketball at the end of the year."

Havre 55, Conrad 53

Havre 15 14 17 9 – 55

Conrad 18 4 21 10 – 53

Havre – Jerod Boles 12, N. Rismon 16, D. Warp 19, J. LaBrie 4, W. Lindbloom 2, Z. Hunt 2. Totals: 21 8-12.

Conrad – Clark Judich 11, Jack Grubb 6, Shane Larson 22, Tristen Diedrich 4, Kyle Murack 10. Totals: 19 10-15.

3-pointers – Boles 2, Rismon 2, Warp, Larson 2, Murack 3. Total fouls – Havre 13, Conrad 14. Fouled out – Diedrich

Havre 63, Lewistown 42

Lewistown 5 12 11 14 -- 42

Havre 11 15 17 20 -- 63

Lewistown – James Durheim 3, McKye McCarthy 7, Ty Parsons 2, Eric Knox 3, Lane Smith 4, Hunter Errecart 12, Morgan Ray 3, Jace Davis 8. Totals: 16 5-14.

Havre – Jerod Boles 8, Nate Rismon 10, Nate Korb 4, D. Warp 18, Jacob LaBrie 11, Wyatt Lindbloom 5, Kato 3, Zach Hunt 4. Totals: 17 26-31.

Three pointers – Knox 1, Errecart 3, Ray 1, Rismon 1, LaBrie 2. Total fouls – Lewistown 22, Havre 14. Fouled out – Ray, Davis, Lindbloom.