So Close, but No Ole Goat

GREAT FALLS - The Havre Blue Ponies have gone 25 years without winning the Ole Goat and after two shots barely missed in the final seconds of Thursday night's winner-take-all game for the trophy - it will remain at Great Falls High for at least one more year.

From start to finish, the Havre High boys basketball team played some of its best basketball of the season Thursday night in the Swarthout Fieldhouse, but in the end, it just wasn't enough to take down the Bison, who escaped with A 52-51 victory.

"The boys competed hard," HHS head coach Curt Leeds said. "And I told them after that game, if we can compete like that and play like that every night, we are going to be a tough team to beat."

After a classic back-and-forth battle between the two rivals, the game was decided in the final minutes. First, the Ponies, who at one point trailed 46-41, ripped off 10 straight points to reclaim the lead, and when Dane Warp hit a floater with just over a minute to play HHS led 51-47.

Yet, that is where it all went wrong for Havre.

Down four, the Bison answered quickly when Brendan Howard connected on a 3-pointer to trim the deficit to one at 51-50. Seconds later, Kody Torgerson stole the ball and converted a layup to give the Bison an improbable 52-51 lead.

However, things were far from finished and on the ensuing possession, Jerod Boles had a great look at the basket, only to have his shot roll off the rim. It looked bleak for Havre at that point, but following a Bison miss at the free-throw-line, the Ponies would get one last chance.

Warp, who has made a habit out of hitting clutch shots, hoisted a prayer from just across half court and for a second, it looked on target before clanging off the rim to end the game.

"I thought about calling a timeout there," Leeds said. "But we got the ball in our best player's hands and we wanted to give him a chance to make a play. Jerod's shot looked good and actually so did Dane's there at the end. But that's the way it goes."

Regardless of how they finished there is no denying that Havre came out playing with a purpose and after an early triple by Nate Rismon, it was apparent that the Bison would be in for a dog fight.

On top of Rismon's five first-quarter points, Warp added eight and the Ponies led after the opening stanza 15-9. In the second quarter, Havre's hot shooting continued. Warp hit a step-back jumper and a fade away three and suddenly the Ponies had their biggest lead of the game at 20-11.

Warp and Rismon each added another trey before the end of the quarter and despite a Bison run, Havre built a 27-22 advantage after Boles connected for two at the halftime buzzer.

In the third quarter, the Bison finally started making some headway and by the end of the stanza, they would tie the score at 41-41. Great Falls High continued to play well in the fourth and scored the first five points to gain a 46-41 advantage.

Yet, a trey by Jacob LaBrie and a bucket by Rismon put the Ponies back in front. Then, a minute later Warp connected on a floater that capped a 10-1 Havre run and gave HHS the 51-47 lead it would eventually relinquish.

"We have been in a lot of close games lately," Leeds said. "And I am really proud of the way that the boys fought there at the end of the game. We had our chances to win, we just didn't finish. But we can take a lot of confidence from this game going forward, we played a very good team and if we continue to play that way we will be in a position to win a lot of games."

In the dual between Howard and Warp, Howard came out on top finishing with 28 points compared to 27 for Warp. Rismon also had a solid game and finished with 12.

The defeat was the third straight for the Ponies and their second straight loss by two points or less. The Ponies, who are now 8-5 on the season, will shoot for their ninth win Saturday against CMR at the HHS gymnasium. Tip-off is set for 5 p.m.

Great Falls High 52, Havre 51

Havre 15 12 14 10 - 51

Great Falls 9 13 19 11 - 52

Havre: Jerod Boles 2, Nate Rismon 12, Nate Korb 2, Dane Warp 27, Jacob LaBrie 3, Isaac Warp 3, Zachary Hunt 2.

Great Falls: Kendall Kynett 9, Kody Torgerson 4, Reece Green 8, Brendan Howard 27, Keaton Burcham 4.