Dethroned: Havre boys knock off Central

The second year of the Walynn Burgess era began this last weekend and the Havre High boys basketball team already had a great performance.

The Ponies' year started off on a sour note on the road in Laurel last Friday, where Havre fell to the strong Locomotives 73-51. But then, in the home opener in the Havre High Gymnasium on Saturday, the Blue Ponies beat the defending Class A state champions, the Billings Central Rams, 64-59.

The game against the Rams was a highlight for Havre, especially since it was Billings Central who knocked them into the consolation bracket at the Eastern A Divisional tournament last season. In a way, the Ponies were able to pull off a nice revenge game.

Burgess was proud of his team's performance against the Rams on the home-court.

"It's just awesome for the boys to respond to last night (Friday)," said Burgess. "To turn around and to fight the adversity. It's just awesome to see the boys do that and come back through that."

The game against the Rams would be close right away, with big plays early on by both teams. Junior Kellen Detrick and senior Mason Rismon helped lead the charge for Havre with many well-placed shots, eventually leading to a 16-13 lead at the end of the first.

The second brought on a lot more vigorous showcase by Havre, where Detrick, Clint Owens, Tyrel Kjersum and Josh Warp went off on Central. As the half progressed, the Rams fought back intensely, with Mason Yochum and Brock Blatter making some great shots. But it would be a surge by Detrick and two big 3-pointers by Warp that put Havre ahead 37-22 at the half.

For Warp, his performance meant a lot to him and his team.

"I think it's a start to what we can be able to do this season," Warp said Sunday. "Yesterday, we didn't completely show what we could do, so we wanted to come back tonight and put on a show that the Havre crowd can be proud about."

The second half became a lot scarier for Havre, though. Charlie Parkan, Blatter and Yochum put up an overwhelming mix of threes and field goals to inch closer to the Ponies' lead.

Havre led 46-36 at the end of the third, but the Rams had a lot more in store.

In the fourth, Yochum and Blatter kept up the attack with more big shots and threes, while Detrick, Owens, Warp and Rismon responded on kind. As the last quarter moved forward, Billings Central was behind 56-52 and more fouls pushed them closer.

But fouls from the Rams gave Havre the edge it needed, with senior Jake Huston and Detrick sealing the game with some good free throws. The Blue Ponies accomplished a very big feat by beating the Class A defending champs.

In the end, Burgess was very happy about his teams throughout the match.

"Our defensive intensity was a lot better," said Burgess. "We were getting up into people. Give it up to Billings Central. They were down 15 at the half and fought all the way back. That's what great teams do."

Detrick and Warp led the team with 19 points each, followed by Huston with nine and Rismon with seven points. It was a big game for the Havre team and will give them a lot of confidence going forward in the season.

The confidence boost will be even better now, after Havre lost the season opener to Laurel. The Locomotives gave the Ponies a tough away-game in Laurel, with Colter Bales putting up 22 points, followed by Nick Pasquarello with 14 and Wylee Schnetter with 12 to help Laurel cruise to a win over Havre. Detrick put up 18 points and Huston added 10.

Despite the opening loss, the win against the Rams Saturday proved that there is a lot in store for the Ponies this year.

Next up, Havre (1-1) will face off against some new Northeast A conference opponents in a pair of away games against Glendive on Friday in Glendive and Miles City on Saturday in Miles City.

Havre 64, Billings Central 59

BC 13 9 14 23 - 59

Havre 16 21 9 18 - 64

Billings Central – Marcus Wittman 10, Charlie Parkan 3, Nate Sasich 4, Sam Dull 4, Malachi Stewart 8, Brock Blatter 16, Mason Yochum 14. Totals: 19 12-24 59.

Havre – Josh Warp 19, Jake Huston 9, Tyrel Kjersem 2, Mason Rismon 7, Kellen Detrick 19, Caden Jenkins 4, Clint Owens 4. Totals: 17 24-36 64.