HHS girls crush Eagles; Pony boys fall

The Havre High girls basketball team is a machine when it comes to winning Central A conference games and after a dominant start defensively, the Blue Ponies rolled to an easy victory over Lewistown.

The Eagles, who have struggled to score all season, averaging just 33 points a game, failed to meet that mark in Lewistown Saturday night, as the visiting Ponies held Lewistown to three points in the first quarter on their way to a 60-28 victory. Havre improved to 8-0 on the season and 3-0 in the Central A conference.

“I thought that our kids played well,” HHS head coach Dustin Kraske said. “We played well defensively. We are trying a lot of different things defensively and we are playing a lot of kids. Our kids are doing well. They are going their best and we just need to keep building our confidence and keep playing well.”

As well as the Ponies played on the defensive end, they were just as effective on offense. After starting a little slow with only eight points in the first quarter, Havre broke out for 21 in the second quarter to take a 29-10 lead into halftime. The Ponies added to their lead by outscoring Lewistown 15-10 in the third quarter and added 16 more in the fourth to lock down the 32-point win.

Kyndall Keller led the way for the Ponies with a game-high 13 points but in all, Havre finished with six players who scored seven points or more. Next up after Keller was sophomore Loy Waid, who finished with nine. Sadie Filius, who added eight, has averaged 12 points per game in her last three outings. Her total was matched by Jessa Chvilicek who finished with eight. Sam Oliver and Kylie Walker also contributed with seven. Anna Zimmer was the high scorer for the Eagles with nine. Libby Jenness also added six.

Following the girls game, the Havre boys played Lewistown on the road and after hanging around for much of the first half, Lewistown pulled away and won the game 67-45. The loss dropped Havre to 4-4 on the season. The Ponies are also 1-2 in the Central A.

What really hurt the Ponies was the outstanding play of Tanner Trafton and Jaden Graham, two of the elite players in Class A boys basketball. Trafton poured in a game-high 32 points and Graham also pitched in with 24. Kellen Detrick was the leading scorer in the loss for Havre with 11. Austin Delarosa also reached double figures with 10. Tommy Brown also added eight and Clint Owens finished with six.

“I have to give it to Lewistown,” HHS head coach Walynn Burgess said. “That’s a team that went to state last year and have a really good chance to do it again this year. (Trafton and Graham) are just so tough and take that team to another level. It was a great learning experience for us and the boys had moments of looking really good but that is where we will learn and improve. I am proud of the way we competed.”

The Havre girls (8-0. 3-0) will be back on the court Thursday to take on Browning in a rematch of the Class A semifinals in 2018. That will get underway at 7 p.m. HHS will then host Fairfield Saturday night at 4. The boys basketball team will play Browning Friday night on the road. Tip-off time is scheduled for 7 p.m.

“We are looking forward to playing Browning,” Kraske said. “That should be a fun one.”

Havre 60, Lewistown 28 (girls)

Havre 8 21 15 16 0 60

Lewistown 3 7 10 8 - 28

Lewistown - Anna Zimmer 9, Libbey Jenness 6, Kylie Zimmer 5, Kayla Nelson 4, Macy Mangold 3, Stephanie Olson 1.

Havre - Kyndall Keller 13, Loy Waid 9, Sadie Filius 8, Jessa Chvilicek 8, Sam Oliver 7 Kylie Walker 7, Lauren Kato 4, Kadia Miller 2, Kassidy Compton 2.

Lewistown 67, Havre 45 (boys)

Havre 14 15 7 9 - 45

Lewistown 18 23 16 10 -67

Lewistown - Tanner Trafton 32, Jaden Graham 24, Jake Clinton 4, Wes Jameson 3, Mitch Norslien 2, Gage Clinton 2.

Havre - Kellen Detrick 11, Austin Delarosa 10, Tommy Brown 8, Clint Owens 6, Jake Huston 5, Mason Rismon 3, Max Olson 2.