Lewistown, Fairfield too much for HHS boys

After taking a break for the holidays, the Havre High boys basketball team was hoping to recover from a slow start to the 2017-18 season.

However, in back-to-back games against Fairfield and Lewistown the Blue Ponies came up short.

Havre had a good chance to win the game Friday night in Fairfield, but went cold late and lost 49-39 after the Eagles scored the final 12 points. Saturday, the Ponies welcomed Lewistown into the HHS gymnasium, but a sluggish offense again doomed the Ponies in a 56-36 loss. Havre is now 2-6 overall and 0-3 in the Central A conference.

"We just didn't do a good job of getting where we were supposed to be offensively," HHS head coach Curt Leeds said. "We tried to run a few different things against zone defense, but we are going to have to keep it simple and just go back to having on offense against zone and man."

The Ponies were hoping that their defense would be able to keep them in both games, and early on against Lewistown Saturday, it worked. Jacob Irvin and Tanner Parsons both connected on three-pointers to keep Havre close at 7-6. But a 6-0 run to close the quarter by Tanner Trafton gave Lewistown a 13-6 edge after the opening stanza.

In the second quarter, the run continued, and at one point, the Eagles scored 13 consecutive points to build a 20-6 lead. Austin Delarosa connected from deep to stop the run momentarily. Yet, Lewistown closed the first half on a 6-2 run and went ahead 26-11.

Lewistown continued its run into the third quarter and after pulling ahead 34-13, the run was 28-7 in favor of the Eagles. Tommy Brown nailed a three-pointer to beat the buzzer at the end of the third, but it the deficit for Havre was still 44-21.

In the fourth quarter, Havre outscored the Eagles 15-12 thanks in part to sophomore Mason Rimson, who scored five points in the final eight minutes of his varsity debut. When it was all said and done, the final margin was 20.

Irvin was the leading scorer for Havre, finishing the game with eight points. Brown wound up with seven, while Rismon and Parsons both had five. Trafton was the leading scorer in the game, scoring 17 for the Eagles. Jadan Graham also contributed with 16.

"I thought (Mason) came in and did a nice job," Leeds said. "He did what we asked him to do, and him getting more playing time is definitely a possibility."

Friday night in Fairfield, the two teams went back and forth early but a hoop by Brown gave the Ponies an 18-17 lead in the second quarter. Yet, Fairfield was able to close the first half strong to grab a 24-21 lead.

The game remained tight into the fourth quarter, when Havre went ahead 39-37 with around four minutes to go. Yet, Ivar Aageson fouled out, leaving the Ponies without their best ball handler. The Eagles responded by scoring the last 12 points of the game and leaving Havre with a 49-39 defeat.

Trey Murphy led the way for the Ponies in the loss with 15 points, thanks to three makes from beyond the three-point line. Parsons finished with seven, while Brown, Delarosa and Irvin all managed four.

"We had the lead by two points late," Leeds said, "but then we had some foul trouble and we had some injuries, so that hurt us. We lost our point guard (Aageson) and that's when you usually need them most at the end of the game. We at least gave ourselves a chance to win, we just couldn't finish it."

The Ponies will be home for back-to-back games this weekend, hosting Rocky Boy Thursday and Browning Saturday.

Fairfield 49, Havre 39

Havre 21 18 - 39

Fairfield 24 25 - 49

Havre - Ivar Aageson 3, Thomas Brown 4, Austin Delarosa 4, Jacob Irvin 4, Austin Jones 2, Trey Murphy 15, Tanner Parsons 7.

Fairfield - no stats reported

Lewistown 56, Havre 36

Lewistown 13 13 18 12 - 56

Havre 6 5 10 15 - 36

Lewistown: T. Trafton 17, J. Clinton 6, M. Norslien 2, A. Lalum 2, W. Jameson 6, C. Henderson 2, J. Graham 16, L. Henderson 2, N. Kindzersk 1

Havre: Laz Windy Boy 3, Tanner Parsons 5, Jacob Irvin 8, Tommy Brown 7, Ivar Aageson 4, Austin Delarosa 3, Tysen Sangrey 1, Mason Rismon 5.