Malta sweeps Blue Ponies in openers

Both the Havre High boys and girls basketball teams started their seasons a little earlier than normal this past weekend, as each team traveled to Malta to take on their Class B rivals.

The season-opening contests between Havre and Malta are always exciting, but by the time the doubleheader was through, it proved to be a forgettable night for HHS as the girls were defeated by the M-Ettes 63-39 and the boys were defeated by the Mustangs, 61-52.

The Malta girls, which swept HHS a season ago, were taking part in their first home game since winning the Class B state championship last season and from the get-go they were firing on all cylinders.

Havre did manage to keep the score close in the early stages of the game and at the end of the first quarter, the Ponies trailed Malta 13-10. Yet, in the second quarter, the M-Ettes flexed their muscle and finished the first half on a 19-7 run that gave Malta a commanding 32-17 lead at intermission.

HHS was able to keep within striking distance in the third quarter, scoring 14 points, compared to 16 for Malta. But, the M-Ettes still led by 17 going into the fourth quarter. And in the final eight minutes, Malta outscored Havre 15-8 to put the game on ice.

“I was pretty pleased,” HHS head coach Dustin Kraske said. “We went down and played a really good team like Malta and I think our kids held their own. I know the score got a little out of hand, but I think it was closer than the score ended up being.”

Of course, Malta isn't the favorite to repeat as state champs without reason. The M-Ettes have two of the most talented players in Class B girls basketball and they both starred against HHS.

Hailey Nicholson was simply unstoppable for Malta and led all scorers in the game with 23 points. Sophia Stiles also had a stellar night, connecting on a pair of 3-pointers en route to 16 points and Jada Nicholson also contributed with 14 points.

Throughout the game, the Ponies struggled to find a rhythm offensively and finished with just two scorers in double figures as Dani Wagner and Naomi Terry each had a team-high 14 points. One stat that was telling for Havre though, was that the Ponies only connected on three shots from beyond the arc, which is normally a spot where Havre is quite deadly.

“We rushed things a lot,” Kraske said about his team’s shooting. “I think it’s going to take us a while. We had some kids that had decent looks and they just didn’t go in. I think that’s just how it’s going to be until we get more games under us.”

While the Malta girls were expected to beat Havre, the opposite was expected in the battle between the boys teams, but in the end the result was the same — a Malta victory.

From the outset, the Mustangs seemed like they simply couldn't miss, and they scored an impressive 25 points in the first quarter as they grabbed an early 25-14 lead over the Ponies. In the second quarter, Malta built its lead even further, outscoring HHS 15-8 and making the score at halftime 40-22.

Despite losing star player Dane Warp early in the fourth quarter to an injury, the Ponies did manage to creep back into the game slightly, but despite a 16-8 fourth quarter in favor of Havre, HHS still fell in by nine.

A big reason for the Malta victory was the Mustangs dominance on the boards as they outrebounded Havre 41-21. Malta also shot 55 percent from the field compared to HHS, which attempted 38 3-pointers and shot just 32 percent.

“My biggest fears I had coming into the season came out,” HHS head coach Curt Leeds said. “We got hurt by a lot of offensive rebounds and second-chance points. But we also gave them a lot of easy looks and we need to do a better job defensively.”

Allen Williamson posted a game-high 21 points in the win for Malta, while Nate Costin added 18. Warp led the Ponies with a team-high 20 points in the loss. Jerod Boles also contributed with 10 and Isaac Warp pitched in with eight and two 3-pointers.

“We shot a low percentage,” Leeds said. “But of all the threes that we shot, there were only five or six that I thought were bad shots. We will shoot the ball better. We only had nine turnovers and you should win most of the time when you only have nine turnovers, but we allowed them to shoot 55 percent and we can’t do that. But I told the boys after the game that they are good shooters and I want them to keep shooting.”

The Havre girls (0-1) will make their home debut Saturday at 5 p.m., against CMR, while the boys will travel to Great Falls to take on the Rustlers inside Rustler Fieldhouse the same day. That game will also begin at 5 p.m.

Malta 63, Havre 39

Havre 10 7 14 8 – 39

Malta 13 19 16 15 – 63

Havre: Cyara Plante 3, Dani Wagner 14, Naomi Terry 14, Marca Herron 4, Danielle Wallace 2, Kristen Nash 2.

Malta: Marley Manoukian 6, Sophia Stiles 16, Hailey Nicholson 23, Jada Nicholson 14, Shay Garfield 4.

Malta 61, Havre 52

Havre 14 8 14 16 – 52

Malta 25 15 13 8 – 61

Havre: Jared Boles 12, Nate Rismon 2, N. Korb 5, Dane Warp 20, Jacob LaBrie 3, Isaac Warp 8, M. Loftus 2.

Malta: Nate Costin 18, Tyson Carney 9, Allen Williamson 21, Ostin Welch 7, Devon Ray Bon 6.