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Havre High's Ivar Aageson, left, drives the ball during Thursday night's game between the Blue Ponies and Class AA Great Falls High Bison. The Bison broke open a tight game with a big second half on their way to a 70-31 win.
Jacob LaBrie launches a shot during Thursday night's game against GFH.
Havre senior Bobby Personett drives the ball during a game against GFH Thursday night.
Havre's Ryan Bakke takes a shot during Thursday's game at the HHS gymnasium.
Blue Pony Nate Korb rushes up the floor during Thursday night's game against GFH at the HHS gymnasium.
Facing the monumental task of trying to beat Brendan Howard and the Great Falls High Bison, the Havre High boys basketball team hung tough early, bu,t soon enough, were overrun.
When it was all said and done, Howard finished with 24 points and the Bison won Thursday night’s game at the HHS gymnasium, going away 70-31. Havre is now 1-5 on the season and will face a slight layoff before their next game, which will be Jan. 6 in Fairfield.
“They are a really good team,” HHS head coach Curt Leeds said. “We probably stayed in our box-and-one a little too long. I was just hoping that we could stop (Howard) from scoring 30 points, but he ended up scoring a lot anyways.”
At the start of the game, now the only one between Havre and GFH, the Ponies traded shot for shot with the Bison and after two 3-pointers by Ivar Aageson and a bucket by Michael Loftus, the Ponies led 8-6. Yet a barrage of treys from the Bison, four in the last four minutes of the opening stanza, gave Great Falls High a 23-14 lead.
In the second quarter, the Havre offense got stagnant, while the Bison continued their blistering pace, scoring the first 13 points in the frame. HHS did score a few points in the last minutes, but still trailed at halftime 43-22.
Down by 21 points, Havre needed a run to get back in the game. Instead, it was the Bison that got the upper hand and outscored the Ponies 11-2. By then, the lead was 54-24 and the outcome was all but decided.
“They came out and played zone against us early,” Leeds said. “And we were able to knock down some open looks. But after that, they went back to man and that’s when we started to struggle. We might have to look at some different offenses over Christmas break, maybe a flex or a screen offense that’s easy to learn. But we need to find a way to get good shots, because when we play well offensively, our defense is much better. Our defense really hasn’t been bad, it’s just when we are turning the ball over and giving teams easy points, and that makes it hard.”
The fourth quarter was just a formality, but the Bison saw their lead grow even more after Kody Torgerson scored the first seven points in the final stanza. That pushed the Great Falls High lead to 61-24. The Bison went on to win by 39.
Great Falls High finished the game with a total of 10 made 3-pointers, with five of those coming from Kellen Romsa, who scored 18 points, second only to Howard. Aageson led the Ponies with nine points, while Loftus added six. Nate Korb and Bobby Personett each had five.
“We still have a lot of work to do,” Leeds said. “We have to find ways to get better both offensively and defensively. I think it’s going to be important for us to play better offensively and give our defense a chance.
Havre will be off until Jan.6, when the Ponies will play in Fairfield. HHS will then host Lewistown on Jan. 7 in its first home game after the holiday break.
Great Falls High 70, Havre 31
Great Falls High 23 20 11 16 - 70
Havre 14 8 2 7 - 31
Havre — Nate Korb 5, Jacob LaBrie 2, Bobby Personett 5, Ryan Bakke 2, Michael Loftus 6, Ivar Aageson 9, Jake Sedahl 2.
Great Falls High — Kendell Kynett 5, Blake Thelen 10, Kody Torgerson 8, Kellen Romsa 18, Kevin Boes 3, Kyle Winkler 2, Brenden Howard 24.
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