Swish: Ponies sweep Rangers, Panthers

Dane Warp has made a lot of great shots during his Havre High basketball career, but the shot he hit against Belgrade might just top them all.

Havre and Belgrade, two Central A rivals, have a penchant for playing exciting games. The two teams played a double-overtime thriller in last season’s divisional championship and played another Saturday night in the HHS gymnasium. Only this time, Warp made sure it was the Blue Ponies that came out on top.

With the score tied 58-58 in overtime and the clock ticking down, Warp took things into this own hands and buried a contested, fade-way, 3-pointer that gave Havre the 61-58 win and caused the Pony Corral to erupt.

“I was just hoping to get someone in the air and draw a foul,” Warp said. “But (the defender) played good defense and didn’t foul me, so I just had to jump up a little higher and shoot it a little higher.”

A victory by way of a game-winning shot is always exciting, but the win was especially key for the Ponies, who are now 2-0 in the Central A standings, thanks to a win over fellow conference-foe Livingston by the score of 62-48 Friday night in Havre.

Yet, there was even more significance to the shot for Warp and the Ponies because it came against Belgrade, a three-time defending Central A champs.

“It’s huge, especially in conference,” Warp said. “I thought our team played well. Belgrade plays us really tough every year and we have always kind of been little brother to Belgrade as long as I’ve been here, so hopefully this year we can overcome that.”

Warp may have finished the game in style, but he started on fire, hitting three consecutive shots from beyond the arc to give HHS an early 9-2 lead. At the end of the first quarter, Warp had 13 points and the Ponies led 18-9.

Yet the second quarter belonged to Dawson Fowler and Belgrade. Fowler, who is averaging more than 20 points per game, showed why with an impressive 17 second quarter points. He connected on four 3-pointers and an old-fashioned three-point play to put the Panthers ahead 30-29 at the half.

“We gave him some open looks,” HHS head coach Curt Leeds said. “He’s good shooter and that kind of allowed him to get going.”

Fowler opened the third stanza with another trey to make it 33-29, but the Ponies answered. Sparked by triples from Nate Korb and Jerod Boles, Havre went on a 13-2 run that was capped with Warp’s fourth 3-pointer, which put Havre ahead 42-35 with 2:07 left in the third.

Havre led 47-41 entering the fourth quarter, and at one point led by as many as nine points after a Warp jumper gave HHS a 50-41 lead with 6:41 to play. But Belgrade rallied, and thanks to a 13-4 run, the Panthers tied the game on a Morgan Eitel basket at the 1:34 mark.

Belgrade even had a chance to win the game, after a Havre turnover gave the Panthers the final possession of regulation, yet, Fowler attempted a shot right before the buzzer rang, but it fell off the front of the rim, setting the stage for Warp’s heroics in the extra session.

“I have kind of been afraid to play man-to-man defense,” HHS Leeds said. “We have been a zone team the past couple of years, but our boys really dug in defensively and got some big stops down the stretch.”

In the end, in the duel between Warp and Fowler, it was Warp, who came out on top. He finished with a game-high 28, including five three's, while Fowler finished with 25 points and six 3-pointers.

Boles also had a big outing in the win for the Ponies, with 16 points and four treys, including a big one in the fourth quarter. Isaac Warp also pitched in with six points and a pair of 3-pointers.

“It was huge,” Leeds said of the win. “With the new divisionals, all of these conference games are must-win games. And it’s kind of nice because it will give us a little bit of buffer zone. Because you are going to have ups and down during a basketball season. You hope it happens against non-conference opponents, but now we have some wiggle room.”

Friday night, the Ponies hosted Livingston, a team they defeated three times last season and even though it’s a new season, nothing has changed as Havre earned a 14-point victory.

Similar to Saturday night, the Ponies got out of the gates hot and after a bucket by Nate Rismon, HHS led 10-2. But, the Rangers closed the opening stanza on a 10-2 run and grabbed a 15-14 lead.

Early in the second. The Rangers were in front 22-19, when Dane Warp scored nine consecutive points to put Havre back up 28-22. Later, a trey by Rismon in the waning moments of the half, gave the Ponies a 33-26 lead at intermission.

Livingston trimmed the lead to 33-29 right away in the third quarter, but a 15-3 run that featured treys from Warp and Jacob LaBrie put HHS in front 48-32 heading to the final stanza.

“I thought we really played great defense in that third quarter,” Leeds said. “I thought all the boys worked hard and Rismon especially. He is the leader on the defensive end and having him at the top of the 1-3-1 defense is what makes that go.”

The Rangers did outscore Havre 16-14 in the last eight minutes, but never seriously threatened Havre in the fourth. Warp again led all scorers with 22 points and three triples. Boles added two treys of his own and finished with 12 points. Rismon pitched in with 11. Jakim Ricketts scored 11 to lead the Rangers and Ladan Ricketts had 10.

Following the sweep of Belgrade and Livingston, the Ponies are 3-1 on the season. Yet, they are not done for the holidays just yet, as they will return to the floor at the HHS gymnasium tonight to host Class AA rival Great Falls High.

The Bison lost a number of talented players from last year’s state-tournament team, but they still boast Brendan Howard, one of the top players in the state. He had 21 points in a win over Glacier Saturday that improved the Bison’s record to 3-1.

“We are looking at it as another chance to improve,” Leeds said. “They (Bison) are a good team and we are we are going to have really focus on trying to slow down Howard.”

The Ole’ Goat trophy, which is a travelling trophy in the rivalry, can be retained by Great Falls High with a win. The Ponies would need to win tonight and in Great Falls later this season to win it from the Bison.

Tip off between the Ponies and the Bison is set for tonight at 7.

Havre 62, Livingston 48

Livingston 15 11 6 16 – 48

Havre 14 19 15 14 – 62

Livingston – L. Ricketts 10, J. Lehrer 9, J. Ricketts 12, B. Engbert 3, R. Floyd 6, D. Walker 6. Totals: 17 9-14

Havre – J. boles 12, N. Risman 11, N. Korb 4, D. Warp 22, J. LaBrie 5, I. Warp 1, I. Aageson 3, M. Loftus 2, B. Bibeau 2. Totals: 21 12-19.

3-Point goals – L. Ricketts 2, Walker 1, Boles 2, Rismon 1, D. Warp 3, LaBrie 1, Aageson 1. Total fouls – Livingston 15, Havre 14. Fouled out – None.

Havre 61, Belgrade 58 OT

Belgrade 9 21 11 13 4 - 58

Havre 18 11 18 7 7 - 61

Belgrade:  D. Fowler 25, B. Salsbury 9, K. Arneson 5, T. Layman 10, T. Campbell 1, M. Eitel 8.

Havre: J. Boles 16, N. Risman 5, N. Korb 3, D. Warp 26, I. Warp 6, M. Loftus 4.