Big rivals await Pony boys in the corral

The Havre High boys basketball got back on the winning track last weekend and starting tonight, the Blue Ponies will look to stay there with two key matchups on the slate.

The Ponies will open their weekend tonight, when they host Central A rival Browning in a critical conference showdown. Then they will host Rocky Boy Saturday in the renewal of a budding rivalry. Both games will be held inside the HHS gymnasium. Havre and Browning will start tonight at 7, while the Ponies and Stars will tip Saturday at 5 p.m.

Through eight games, the Ponies, under head coach Curt Leeds have proven to be one of the better teams in Class A basketball. HHS sports a 6-2 record and owns the top spot in the Central A standings with a 3-0 record.

“It would be nice for us to get 4-0 in the conference,” Leeds said. “The thing for us is that we are ranked No. 3 in Class A by the Great Falls Tribune. So people know that we are a good team — we just need to start believing that we are a good team again.”

Coming into the season, Havre’s offense was supposed to be its strength and so far it has proven to be effective, averaging more than 53 points per game. But the Ponies have struggled from the field, shooting just 37 percent overall and just 28 percent from 3-point range. HHS also boasts one of the top scorers in the state in Dane Warp, who ranks third in Class A with an average of 21.75 points per night.

The Ponies are truly excelling, though, on the defensive end of the floor. For the season, Havre is surrendering just 48 points per game and have held their last three opponents to a mere 40 points a game. That defense has helped HHS cover up an offense that has also gone three games without eclipsing the 50-point mark and scored just 19 points in the final three quarters of last Friday’s win over Conrad.

“I think the fact that we added a couple of defenses in this year has really helped,” Leeds said. “We used to just have two defenses and we have put in a couple more that has allowed us to mix things up more I also think that no matter what defense we are in, we are doing a great job of anticipating.”

Despite recent struggles, the Ponies still possess more than enough firepower to turn things around offensively and in addition to Warp, both Nate Rismon and Jerod Boles are currently averaging better than eight points a game.

“We know that we are going to get good looks,” Leeds said. “We just have to be patient and wait for those good looks and then shoot the ball with confidence when we get them.”

While the Ponies have been getting it done defensively, Browning has been winning with offense. The Indians, who are 3-5 overall and 0-2 in the Central A (losing to Belgrade and Livingston), lead the conference in scoring with more than 64 points a game. The Indians shoot just 32 percent from the field, but get themselves to the free-throw line north of 21 times per game and score more than 12 points per game from the charity stripe, both of which lead the league. Their penchant for getting to the line is one thing that makes the Indians hard to defend, the other is the fact that they have seven players that average five points a game or more, led by Josh Monroe, who leads the team with 9.57 per game.

“They really want to play up-tempo,” Leeds said. “They want to get the rebound and then get out and run. So we need to make sure we are either going for the offensive rebounding or getting back on defense to try and limit some of that.”

Even if Browning is able to score more than 50 points against Havre, the Indians defense, which allows 65.75 points a game, is something HHS should be able to exploit. And after the Indians swept Havre in the regular season last year, the Ponies won’t be taking them lightly.

“They have been playing a lot better recently,” Leeds said. “They have won their last three games, so I am not sure what happened, but something changed. They are going to try and pressure us and play faster than we want to play, so we just need to make sure we are patient and stick to our game.”

After taking on Browning Friday, Havre will play the second of consecutive home games Saturday against Rocky Boy. The Stars, like Browning, have struggled so far this season winning just two of their first eight games after finishing third at the Class B state tournament a season ago.

Following a season-opening win over Heart Butte, the Stars have lost six of seven, with their only win coming on Dec. 22 over Harlem, 61-57. Rocky Boy was hit hard by graduation and the team lost a number of key players from last year’s squad including Cecil LaFromboise and Bubby Gopher.

But the Stars are not void of talent, they are just really young. Ben Iron Eyes has been one of their most reliable scorers this season and is coming off 14-point performance last Friday against Malta. Jerrell Gopher and Kendall Small are two others who have made an impact consistently for Rocky Boy. However, the biggest problem facing the Stars against Havre isn’t scoring, it’s stopping the Ponies. That’s because Rocky Boy is allowing more than 71 points a game over the last month and that will be the biggest hurdle to overcome if the Stars hope to pull an upset.

“I think the Rocky Boy game will be a lot like the game against Browning,” Leeds said. “They are going to try and press us and get us out of our game. So we just need to wait for good looks and take care of the basketball, that will be the biggest key.”

Havre will take on Browning tonight at 7 and Rocky Boy Saturday at 5 p.m. Both games will be held inside the HHS gymnasium.