Havre High boys aiming to ground the Eagles Saturday night

It has been a pretty good upward rise for the Havre High boys basketball when it comes to Northeast A conference play.

After hitting .500 in conference, the Blue Ponies climbed their way up to 4-2 after beating the Glendive Red Devils and the Miles City Cowboys two weeks ago at home.

Now, Havre is facing off against another Northeast A opponent in the Sidney Eagles Saturday at 4 p.m. in the Havre High Gymnasium.

The game versus the Eagles carries some weight with it, too, as the Ponies look to solidify the No. 2 seed in the conference after Miles City clinched the No. 1 seed.

Sidney will be the first of the last two conference games in Havre's season and HHS head coach Walynn Burgess knows just how tough the Eagles can be on the court.

"Sidney is a feisty squad," Burgess said. "I have seen them be in quite a few more games coming down the stretch, so we are going to have to come prepared and ready for a battle."

Clinching the No. 2 seed in the Northeast A is big for the Ponies and grabbing another win over Sidney is a great start to keeping that seeding. After all, Havre can clinch the No. 2 seed by winning out in conference, beating the Eagles Saturday and the Lewistown Golden Eagles in February.

And the Blue Ponies have the pieces to do so.

Havre's starters are a very powerful group. Juniors Josh Warp, Kellen Detrick and Clint Owens all make up a big part of the offensive attack. Detrick is fierce when it comes to driving to the basket, Warp is lethal when it comes to 3-pointers, often sinking quite a few each game, and Owens is a good mix when it comes to field goals and free throws.

Havre's seniors, Mason Rismon and Jake Huston, make up the rest of the starting core and are another big factor in the Blue Pony offense. Rismon and Huston both have great games almost anywhere on the hardwood, be it the paint, the foul line or the 3-point line. Others like senior Tyrel Kjersem and Nolan Lotton have been a big help to the offense, too.

But Sidney is a team that competes hard in every single game it plays and Burgess knows that there are some tough kids on the Eagles that can make an impact on the hardwood when given the chance.

"They are led by Cooper McGlothlin," Burgess said. "He is second in the conference in scoring, so we are going to have to really focus in and make sure he doesn't get any good looks. Jerome Entz is another kid we will have to watch out for, as well."

Sidney currently sits at 3-11 overall and 0-6 in conference, which can be some pretty good fuel to play even harder. On top of that, the Eagles have already lost to Havre this season at home, so to get revenge and upset the Ponies on the road would be pretty big for Sidney. Picking up its first Northeast A win over a red-hot Havre team could definitely shake things up among the conference, too.

In the end, the next two conference games can have a big impact on how Havre is seeded going into the Eastern A Divisional Tournament in late February. When it comes to the Sidney game, Burgess is looking forward to the matchup at home.

"It should be another exciting night in the Pony Corral," Burgess said.

HHS will take on the Sidney Eagles Saturday at 4 p.m. in the Havre High Gymnasium, looking to end off the conference play on some good notes before the Eastern A Divisional Tournament in late February.