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Blue Pony girls survive a close one in Browning
Havre High's Tommy Brown, left, drives past the Browning defense during Thursday night's game in the HHS gymnasium. Brown and his fellow seniors were playing in their final home game, and, they gave the powerful Indians all they could handle in a 60-52 loss.
With it being senior night, it was not a surprise to see the Havre High boys basketball team give it everything it had against Browning. Unfortunately, despite an admirable fourth-quarter comeback, the Blue Ponies came up short in their final home game, losing 60-52 inside the HHS gymnasium Thursday night.
"It was a tough one," HHS head coach Walynn Burgess said. "But the boys played their hearts out. They battled all the way to the end, especially our seniors, they put out a great effort, we just came up a little short, but I was really proud especially of our three guys (seniors). They left it all out on the floor and that's all that you can ask of them."
In the fourth quarter, it was also fitting that the Ponies comeback attempt was jumpstarted by a couple of those seniors. Havre actually started battling back in the third quarter after trailing 37-25 at the half. Things got started with a bucket by senior Tysen Sangrey and then Tommy Brown connected on a 3-pointer, completing a 7-0 run, getting the Ponies within five at 37-32.
Browning answered the Ponies with triples by Riley Spoonhunter and Delon Mad Plume as the Indians pushed their lead to as much as 15 points in the fourth. Yet, Havre refused to go away. Following a hoop from Jake Huston, Sangrey scored again inside, while also drawing the foul and minutes later, when Brown popped in his second trey of the night, the Browning lead was down to nine, 57-48.
Havre continued to stifle Browning defensively in the fourth and buckets by both Kellen Detrick and Brown got the Ponies within five with just over a minute left in the game. Browning added a free throw at the other end, giving Havre a chance to make it a one-possession game, however, a 3-point attempt went awry and Browning hit two more free throws to ice the eight-point win.
Tyree Whitcomb was a force in the game for Browning with 23 points. Spoonhunter, a transfer from Heart Butte, scored 13. He and Whitcomb scored eight of the last 12 points for the Indians.
"They are the No. 4 team in the state for a reason," Burgess said. "But I thought this was a good game for us to get ready for divisionals, and I was really proud of our effort."
Detrick had a big night in the loss for the Ponies, scoring at least 20 points for the second time in three games as he connected on seven field goals including one 3-pointer. The sophomore also finished with a game-high nine rebounds. Sangrey also put forth a solid effort in his final home game, scoring 11 points. Brown added eight points and three assists on a night when Havre dished out 15 total. Mason Rismon also contributed with seven rebounds and six assists in the loss. Havre (7-10) will finish its season Saturday night at Fairfield starting at 5:30 p.m.
While the boys team lost to Browning at home Thursday night, the top-ranked Blue Pony girls paid a visit to Browning, another top-five team in multiple polls across the state and in their fifth contest of the past two seasons, Havre beat Browning again, 42-38.
And once again, to get their fifth straight win over their old Central A rival, the Ponies did it with defense, holding the Indians scoreless for the last 6:48 of the game as HHS rallied in the fourth to remain unbeaten this season (17-0). Havre also extended its overall winning streak to 41 games and is now just one win away from finishing off a second consecutive perfect regular season.
"I thought that our kids really stepped up and played well," HHS head coach Dustin Kraske said. "It was a total team win. Defensively, we were very good down the stretch and offensively, we really valued the ball in the last 6-7 possessions. It was tournament basketball and it was great."
Yet, it was clear from the start, that winning in Browning, wasn't going to be easy. In the first quarter, the Indians jumped out to a 10-7 advantage before Havre was able to rally with 15 points in the second quarter to jump ahead 22-20 at intermission.
In the third quarter, though, Browning reclaimed the lead and held a two-point advantage, 33-31 in the fourth quarter against the Ponies, which was the first time Havre had trailed that late in a game since the season opener against Billings Central. However, in the fourth quarter, the Havre defense clamped down and limited Browning to just five points, while Kadia Miller scored six in the stanza and Katie Wirtzberger added four key points of her own, which helped Havre wrap up the victory.
Kyndall Keller, the leading scorer in Class A, finished with 13 points. Miller also had a solid night with nine, as did Wirtzberger, who also hit a 3-pointer in the opening stanza. For Browning, Taylor Jordan scored a game-high 14 points and Walker Running Crane added nine. Dulci Skunkcap was held to zero. HHS (17-0, 6-0) will visit Fairfield on Saturday to close out the regular season. Tip-off time is set for 4 p.m.
Browning 60, Havre boys 52
Browning - Riley Spoonhunter 13, E. Runningcrane 5, B. Brenner 4 L. Bullchild 2, J. Bird 5, D. Madplume 6, Tyree Whitcomb 23, C. Lazyboy 2.
Havre - Jake Huston 7, Tommy Brown 8, Kellen Detrick 20, Austin Delarosa 2, Tysen Sangrey 11, Clint Owens 4.
Havre girls 42, Browning 38
Havre 7 15 9 11 - 42
Browning 10 10 13 5 - 38
Browning - Chaslin Kipp 6, Kelsey Mad Plume 2, Walker Running Crane 9, Taylor Jordan 14, Tatum Running Crane 5.
Havre - Kyndall Keller 13, Loy Waid 2, Kadia Miller 6, Jessa Chvilicek 6, Sadie Filius 3.
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