STATE TOURNEY TIME: On a Roll: Ponies poised for greatness

The Havre High boys basketball team did something it hasn’t done in 12 years last week. This week, the Blue Ponies will try for something they haven’t done in 22.

That something is win the Class A state championship. And with the way that the Blue Ponies stormed through the Eastern A Divisional last weekend in Billings, there is reason to believe that a championship is within reach.

“If we can keep playing the way that we have been playing,” HHS head coach Curt Leeds said. “I just really don’t see anybody beating us.”

Leeds and the Ponies are confident and, after beating Laurel, Billings Central and Hardin in consecutive games at divisionals — three teams that made it to Missoula for state — they should be. Havre, which is the top seed from the Eastern A, will open the tournament against Hamilton, an upstart squad that is the No. 4 seed out of the Western A. The two teams will square off at 12 p.m., Thursday inside Dahlberg Arena at the University of Montana.

However, just because the Ponies come into the tournament as the top seed from the East, it doesn’t mean that their road to the title game is going to be an easy one. Hamilton, which lost to Butte Central in the consolation game last weekend at the Western A Divisional, is a talented team that features three double-digit scorers.

The Broncs are spearheaded by sophomore Carter Kearns, who averages more than 14 points per game for Hamilton. And while Hamilton also relies heavily on a freshman, Hunter Omelid, who averages 10.67 points a game, the Broncs have some veteran leadership at the point guard position in Josh Heath, who was honorable mention All-Southwest A last season. He averages 10.72 points a game.

Thanks to their talented trio, the Broncs boast one of the top offensive teams in the state. They trailed only Dillon in the Southwest A in terms of points per game, but led the conference in field goal percentage. Yet, while Hamilton scored 57.8 points, it also allows 52.7, which is a solid, but not spectacular number.

And with the offense that the Broncs are going to have to stop, their defense will need to be spectacular. That’s because in order for Hamilton to have a reasonable chance of upsetting the Ponies, it will need to slow down Havre superstar Dane Warp, which, at present time, seems like a nearly-impossible task.

“He has just gotten so good at getting to the basket,” Leeds said of Warp. “It seems like whenever he goes to the basket something good happens. He either scores, gets fouled or finds someone for an open look. I just don’t know how you stop that.”

Last week at the Eastern A, nobody could. Warp dominated the competition. Actually, he toyed with it, scoring 89 points over three games, an average of nearly 30 a game. He was also among the tournament leaders in both rebounds and assists, which further demonstrates his overall impact on the game.

“He is playing at such a high level right now,” Leeds said. “There have been a lot of really great players at Havre High, Cory Brothers was one, but I don’t know if anyone has ever played as well as Dane is right now.”

Warp has played well for the Ponies, but he has had help, a lot of it. One player that has been a major contributor all season long, but especially in the postseason, has been Jerod Boles. The senior point guard had four treys in a win over Laurel and three in the win over Billings Central. Over three games in Billings, he scored 41 points, which is just shy of 14 points a game. Boles will be a huge key for the Ponies, as will Nate Rismon, who reached double figures twice at the Eastern A.

Havre has also gotten big contributions from others such as Zach Hunt, Ivar Aageson and Jacob LaBrie. Hunt, a senior, missed a big chunk of the season due to injury, but since his return, he has continued to get better and better.

“He’s playing like we thought he would,” Leeds said. “It just took him a while get back and to get healthy.”

Hunt has provided a solid presence inside for Havre in terms of both defense and rebounding. Aageson has added a similarly strong defensive presence on the perimeter and LaBrie is a solid ball-handler with a penchant for big shots.

“He kind of has that surfer mentality,” Leeds said of LaBrie. “He never really gets high or low. He’s just always the same and I think that helps him in those big moments.”

Havre will need its best effort and all of its players to be playing at a high level this week, especially with a number of other really good teams in the tournament, including Western A champ and 2015 runner-up Dillon, defending state champion Laurel and Western A runner-up Polson. The rest of the field includes Billings Central, which makes its second straight appearance, Hardin, the Eastern A runner up, and Butte Central.

If the Ponies beat the Broncs, they will play the winner of Polson-Billings Central at 6:30 p.m. Friday in the semifinals. The other first-round matchups are Dillon against Laurel in a rematch of last season’s title game, and Hardin vs Butte Central. Those games will be played Thursday.

The Championship game is Saturday night at 8. The consolation game will precede it at 6:30. All games will be played at Dahlberg Arena.