Blue Ponies suffer back-to-back heartbreakers in Bozeman

Normally, football is the sport described as a game of inches. But that saying summed up this past weekend perfectly for the Havre High boys basketball team, which was literally inches away from playing for the Class A state championship.

Trailing by two points to the Dillon Beavers Friday night in the semifinals of the state tournament, the Blue Ponies had the ball, and with just seconds remaining got it into the hands of Nate Rismon, who got a clean look at a 3-point attempt. The shot went halfway down, then popped out and Havre’s dream of a state championship went with it as the Beavers edged the Ponies 60-58 inside the Brick Breeden Fieldhouse in Bozeman.

“I thought the boys played extremely well,” HHS head coach Curt Leeds said. “We were just one half a rotation from being in the state championship game.

“(When Rismon shot it) I thought it looked good, I think everybody in the stands did,” He added. “I think even Dillon thought it was good. It just rattled out.”

Saturday morning, after falling to Dillon, the 2014 runner-up, the Ponies had to face the Columbia Falls Wildcats, the 2014 state champions in loser-out action. And for the second straight game, Havre went toe-to-toe with a Class A heavyweight before finally falling, this time in overtime by the score of 59-58.

Viewed as underdogs against Class A power Dillon, which finished second after falling to Laurel in the state championship game, the Ponies came out firing. Jerod Boles drained a three to open the game for Havre but the Beavers scored the next six to grab a 6-3 lead momentarily before the Ponies responded with a 9-0 run that included eight points from Dane Warp to put HHS in front 13-6.

A 3-pointer by Nate Rismon and a two by Michael Bakke extended the Havre lead to 18-8 and capped a 15-3 spurt by the Ponies. But, the Beavers down 18-8, closed the opening stanza with six straight points to trim the Havre advantage to 18-14.

Dillon continued its run in the second quarter and after knocking down a trey, the Beavers were up 23-20 after a 15-2 run of their own. Rismon later tied the game at 24-24 with a long two and Havre actually was up 28-24 before Dillon scored the final five points of the half to go up 29-28 at intermission.

In a game of runs, the Ponies went on another to open the third quarter, scoring six straight points and taking a 34-29 lead after a jumper by Jase Kato. Yet, Dillon fought back and despite another trey by Warp, the Beavers led 44-42 after three.

Boles opened the fourth quarter with a trey to put Havre up 45-44 but an 8-1 run by the Beavers put them ahead 52-46 midway through the final stanza.

The two teams exchanged baskets but the Ponies finally trimmed the deficit as Jacob LaBrie and Boles both hit from deep to keep Havre within striking distance and two free throws from Warp got the Ponies within two with less than 40 seconds left.

Needing possession of the ball, Rismon intercepted a Dillon pass, setting the stage for his final shot that ultimately rimmed out.

“I thought we played really well against Dillon,” Leeds said. “They were the No. 1 team coming in and we had them on their heels a little bit. They had to change the way they were playing to defend us.”

Warp led the way for Havre with 20 points. Bakke pitched in with 10, while Rismon and Boles each added nine. For the game, the Ponies shot a blistering 54 percent from the field and 50 percent from beyond the arc, including a 5-of-7 second half performance that just about had Havre playing Saturday night for the state title.

As it was, the Ponies had to turn around and play Saturday morning against a talented Columbia Falls team that was a pre-tournament favorite to reach the championship game.

And as they did throughout the tournament, the Ponies shot the lights out, particularly in the first half, and in particular Boles. In the first quarter alone, Havre hit four times from beyond the arc, with Boles knocking down three of the four 3-point shots to help HHS grab a 12-9 lead after one.

The Ponies’ hot shooting continued in the second quarter as they scored the first five points of the stanza and when Boles buried his fourth three of the half Havre was up 20-13. LaBrie hit from deep minutes later, followed by a bomb from Warp. And right before the halftime buzzer sounded, Nate Korb got in on the act, hitting from downtown to send Havre into the locker room leading 31-17.

“We came out firing on all cylinders against Billings Central and just kept that momentum going,” Leeds said. “We took that into Friday against Dillon and Saturday against Columbia Falls. All three games we shot the ball really well.”

After hitting eight first-half threes to build a 14-point advantage, HHS watched the Wildcats go to work in the third quarter and opened the second half on a 17-2 run thanks to a dominant defensive effort and some efficient offense, putting Columbia Falls in front 34-32. Kato hit a two and then Warp nailed a trey to help stem the tide, but as the third came to a close, HHS trailed 39-38 after being outscored 22-7 in the period.

Boles hit another three minutes in the fourth quarter to give Havre the lead but the Wildcats went back up by three, until Warp, following a Havre timeout, hit from beyond the arc to tie the score at 46-46 with just over three minutes remaining.

However, Boles wasn’t finished and hit his sixth three of the game after a Columba Falls score, then Bakke scored after a no-look pass from Warp and suddenly Havre led 51-48. Yet, the Widcats answered with five quick points to go up two. Kato then tied the game at 53-53 with 1:02 remaining.

The Wildcats would hold for the final shot but were unable to score and the game went to overtime. With Havre down two a couple minutes into the extra session, Rismon scored after a Warp steal to tie it. Then, after a Columbia Falls bucket, Kato scored again to tie things at 58-58.

Again Columbia Falls would hold for the final shot but this time got fouled with 13 seconds remaining. The Wildcats made one free throw. Havre had a shot to win the game on its final possession but turned the ball over and was not able to get off a shot attempt. The loss ended Havre’s state tournament and its season at 15-9.

Boles was the high scorer for Havre with 18 points, thanks to his remarkable six-trey performance. Warp contributed with 12 points, eight rebounds and eight assists. Bakke added nine points, while Rismon finished with seven.

Columbia Falls, which ended up finishing third with a win over Billings Central, got 17 points from Ty Morgan and 16 from Grant Wallace.

Even though the Ponies failed to reach their goal of playing Saturday night at the state tournament, Leeds was still proud of his team and how they battled against two of the best teams in the state without blinking an eye.

“I thought this season was a success,” Leeds said. “We doubled the number of wins we had from last year and our boys played extremely well this weekend. It takes a lot of things to win a state title and one of them is playing well and our boys did that. You need that and a little luck. But I think our underclassmen can take away a lot of confidence from how well we played and how close we were.”

Dillon 60, Havre 58 (sf)

Dillon 14 15 15 16 - 60

Havre 18 10 14 16 - 58

Dillon - Trae Williams 5-7 6-7 17, J.D. Ferris 2-3 0-0 5, Parker Love 0-1 0-0 0, Justin Ferris 1-3 0-0 2, Jason Ferris 7-12 0-0 14, Tyler Jory 1-3 0-0 3, Nate Simkins 2-6 3-4 9, Nick Huber 0-1 0-0 0, Tanner Haverfield 3-6 0-1 6, Travis Ackerson 2-4 0-0 4. Totals: 23-46 9-12 60.

Havre - Jerod Boles 3-9 0-0 9, Nate Rismon 3-6 1-2 9, Dane Warp 5-8 9-9 20, Michael Bakke 4-6 2-4 10, Jase Kato 1-2 0-0 2, Jacob LaBrie 2-3 0-0 6, Wyatt Lindbloom 1-1 0-0 2. Totals: 19-35 12-15 58.

3-point goals - Dillon 5-13 (Williams 1-2, J.D. Ferris 1-1, Love 0-1, Justin Ferris 0-1, Jory 1-2, Simkins 2-4, Haverfield 0-1, Ackerson 0-1), Havre 8-16 (Boles 3-6, Rismon 2-5, Warp 1-1, Bakke 0-1, LaBrie 2-3). Fouled out - none. Rebounds - Dillon 22 (Love 6), Havre 21 (Warp 5). Assists - Dillon 6 (Jason Ferris 2, Haverfield 2), Havre 14 (Rismon 4). Total fouls - Dillon 14, Havre 16.

Columbia Falls 59, Havre 58 OT (lo)

Columbia Falls 9 8 22 14 6 - 59

Havre 12 19 7 15 5 - 58

Columbia Falls - Trevor Houston 1-4 0-0 2, Grant Stenger 5-11 3-6 13, Jayce Fagerland 4-10 0-0 11, Ty Morgan 6-13 2-3 17, Grant Wallce 7-9 2-5 16, Glenn Morden 0-1 0-0 0, Logan Williams 0-1 0-0 0. Totals: 23-49 7-14 59.

Havre - Jerod Boles 6-8 0-0 18, Nate Rismon 3-8 0-0 7, Dane Warp 4-9 1-2 12, Michael Bakke 4-7 1-2 9, jase Kato 3-4 0-2 6, Nate Korb 1-1 0-0 3, Jacob LaBrie 1-4 0-0 3, Wyatt Lindbloom 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 22-41 2-6 58.

3-point goals - CF 6-17 (Fagerland 3-9, Morgan 3-7, Morden 0-1), Havre 12-23 (Boles 6-8, Rismon 1-4 Warp 3-6, Korb 1-1, LaBrie 1-4). Fouled out - none. Rebounds - CF 26 (Stenger 8), Havre 24 (Warp 8). Assists - CF 10 (Houston 4), Havre 15 (Warp 8). Total fouls - CF 9, Havre 13.