Heating Up: Ponies sweep Indians, Eagles

After some thrilling conference wins over Northeast A rivals Lewistown and Sidney, the Havre High boys basketball team was ready to grab another pair of wins this weekend that would help improve their record.

Both games would be hard-fought and the Blue Ponies snagged those wins, the first of which was over the No. 4 Browning Indians Friday 79-71 in the Havre High Gymnasium and the second came on the road in Fairfield against the Fairfield Eagles Saturday 66-50.

The upset win over the Indians was a big one for HHS, which has now taken down the defending champs in Billings Central and fourth-ranked Browning. The slugfest on Havre's home court was one to remember and HHS head coach Walynn Burgess was proud of what his team put forward on the hardwood.

"It was just an awesome team effort," Burgess said. "We got four guys with over 16 points and we talk about sharing is caring and the kids really bought into that whole mantra. It was great for us to respond to that adversity, coming out and being flat to start and then getting out to a big lead. Kids really responded well and fought back, giving us a chance. It's all about the kids who work their butt off to get to where we are right now."

The first half was indeed a tough bout for Havre, but the third quarter was a great performance for the Ponies. After junior Kellen Detrick opened the stanza with two free throws, senior Jake Huston, juniors Josh Warp, Clint Owens and Detrick all made great contributions to a big 13-0 run, which included two 3-pointers in a row by Warp.

Owens and Huston continued to add some buckets for the Blue Ponies, while senior Mason Rismon was still putting in work in what could be his best performance of the year so far. After being down 39-34 at halftime, the Ponies sat on top and a Warp trey at the buzzer capped off the beautiful eight-minute showcase. HHS led at the end of the third 60-49.

Detrick had himself quite the game and further proved his talent for Blue Pony basketball. At the end of the bout, Detrick expressed how glad he felt about the win for the team.

"I feel good," Detrick said. "We came out slow, then we showed a lot of heart and perseverance to come back out and get this W tonight."

Before that, Browning had been making big strides, never giving up its lead in the first half. The Indians opened the game with a 9-0 run after a field goal by Detrick and kept adding on points. Havre started to pick up the pace against Browning with a 9-0 run of its own, but the Indians led 20-16 at the end of the first stanza.

The second quarter continued to be a back-and-forth battle between the teams. Both sides went on small runs of their own and kept up the pace against one another. At the intermission, Browning still had a close lead 39-34. What followed was the big third period performance.

But the fourth quarter was where the Indians and Ponies battled till the final seconds.

Havre added some points early with some Warp free throws and a goal from Detrick, but Browning fought with vigor to keep the game close. With 1:07 to 30 seconds left in the fourth stanza, Detrick, Huston and Rismon took advantage of fouls to add some more points to the board.

The Indians cut Havre's lead to 77-71 and with just seven seconds left in the match, Rismon hit the game-sealing free throws to give the Blue Ponies the upset victory over Browning.

The show that Rismon put on lasted throughout the whole game, not just the third quarter.

"We played great," Rismon said. "Definitely picked up our energy. In that first quarter, we didn't have any of it. But we definitely came out, changed it all up, started hitting out shots, locked down on defense and kept it going. They couldn't get any shots up on us."

Havre had quite a few players hit double digits in the game against the Indians. The Ponies were led by Rismon with 22 points, followed by Detrick and Huston putting up 18 each on the day, while Warp contributed 16 points of his own.

Overall, Burgess was happy to see such a great game for multiple athletes on his squad.

"It's not even just Detrick and Rismon," Burgess said. "Warp hits that three at the end of the half, Jake finds good attack angles in the second half, gets a couple and-ones and hits a free throw at the end, Mason said he hasn't been shooting well, but I still believe that kid could shoot it into the ocean and he can find it at times. And Kellen is Kellen. That's what we expect out of him and he treats it that way. It's just great they're on our sideline and not somebody else's."

Havre followed the big win over Browning with a victory against Fairfield Saturday, where the Ponies put up a consistent game, scoring over 10 points in each stanza, their highest being in the third with 18 points. Detrick once again led HHS with 18 points, followed by Rismon with 14 and Huston 12.

Burgess was happy to see his team keep up the great work against a good Class B team Saturday.

"Thought the kids responded well after a big game on Friday against Browning," Burgess said. "To come out against a great team on the road, really rally around and do it as a unit to keep one of the best players, Keely Bake, in the state in check was a big testament to our kid's effort on the defensive end. Our kids respond when we get after it on defense. We knew going in that it was gonna be a challenge on both ends of the floor and we really answered the bell this weekend. We are super excited about how this weekend played out."

Next up, the Blue Ponies (6-4) head back on the home court to play Glendive Friday and then Miles City Saturday. Both games will take place in the Havre High Gymnasium, where Havre looks to get revenge on the Red Devils and Cowboys for the losses earlier in the season.

Havre 79, Browning 71

Browning 20 19 10 22 - 71

Havre 16 18 26 19 - 79

Browning – Blayne DeRoche 10, Cody Carlson 2, Joe Bull Shoe 5, Rylee Spoonhunter 17, Chris Reevis 7, Luke Juneau 10, Justin Burd 5, Deion Mad Plume 9, Latrell Bull Child 6. Totals: 28 5-10 71

Havre – Josh Warp 16, Jake Huston 18, Tyrel Kjersem 1, Mason Rismon 22, Kellen Detrick 18, Clint Owens 4. Totals: 23 24-31 79.

Havre 66, Fairfield 50

Fairfield 9 13 14 14 - 50

Havre 11 19 18 14 - 66

Fairfield – Gaice Blackwell 4, Conor Murray 5, Keeley Bake 15, Guidry Giles 9, Gavin Mills 2, Daniel Faith 13, Kaelob Flores 2. Totals: 16 12-14 50.

Havre – Josh Warp 4, Jake Huston 12, Tyrel Kjersem 8, Nolan Lotton 4, Mason Rismon 14, Kellen Detrick 18, Caden Jenkins 2, Clint Owens 3, Quinn Springer 1. Totals: 24 10-16 66.