Laurel stops Havre boys state tournament bid

The Havre High boys basketball team knew they had to win two games to get to the Class A state tournament and after the loss to the Livingston Rangers last Wednesday in Billings, the Blue Ponies had to take the long way around.

Havre had to go through Northeast A rival, the Glendive Red Devils, in the consolation quarterfinals Friday morning to get to the consolation semifinals. The Ponies advanced with a win over Glendive 80-68. But the Laurel Locomotives halted Havre’s progress to state, as the Ponies lost to the Locomotives 53-41, at the 2020 Eastern A Divisional tournament in the First Interstate Bank Arena in Billings.

HHS head coach Walynn Burgess was proud of his teams’ toughness throughout the two games against Glendive and Laurel.

“Really proud of how the boys responded against Glendive,” Burgess said. “They came out and had a great team effort on both ends. Against Laurel, I thought the boys did a really good job of executing the game plan and giving us a chance at winning the game. Give it up to Laurel, they really came out and locked in on the defensive end and really flustered us at times, but I was proud of the way the boys responded in the second half and fought for a chance to win it in the fourth.”

The win over the Red Devils was a big one. Jake Huston opened with monstrous performance, putting up 14 of Havre’s 17 points in the quarter, while Tyrel Kjersem had the other two. Then came Kellen Detrick, who sunk a 3-pointer, put up four field goals and threw up a block to help the Ponies lead 45-31 at halftime.

Huston, Mason Rismon and Detrick continued the drive for HHS, with Huston dropping shots, Rismon making key baskets and Detrick throwing down the hammer with a huge dunk in the fourth quarter to help cap off a great morning victory over Glendive.

Detrick led Havre with 23 points and Huston followed right behind him with 22 points.

The game versus the Locomotives Saturday morning was a lot tougher, though. The Blue Ponies stuck with Laurel, only down 12-11 after the first quarter, but the Locos escaped in the second stanza to lead 24-19 at the intermission.

Laurel jumped further into the lead in the third period with another 12-point quarter to lead Havre 36-27, followed by a 17-point performance to beat the Ponies and punch a ticket to state. Detrick led HHS one last time this season with 13 points, with Rismon behind him with 10.

With the loss in the consolation semifinals, the Ponies’ season came to an end.

Even so, HHS achieved quite a bit this year. Havre was undefeated at home against Class A opponents and opened their first year in the Northeast A as the No. 2 seed — a pretty nice haul for the year.

On top of that, Burgess was glad to see the season move in the right direction.

“I thought, overall, the season was a good stepping stone for us as a program,” Burgess said. “Going 12-9 is a good start for us. We appreciate everything those seniors gave to us, but we know that chapter is now ending, and we know in two weeks another one begins.”

Now, the Blue Ponies will graduate five stellar seniors and await the court next season for another chapter in Havre High boys basketball history.

The top four teams from the Eastern A, champion Hardin, as well as Billings Central, Livingston and Laurel, advance to the 2020 Class A state tournament, which will run March 12-14 back in Billings.

Laurel 53, Havre 41, LO

Havre 11 8 8 14 – 41

Laurel 12 12 12 17 – 53

Havre – Kellen Detrick 13; Mason Rismon 10; Clint Owens 8; Jake Huston 4; Josh Warp 3; Tyrel Kjersem 2; Nolan Lofton 1.

Laurel – Danner Purkett 14; Wylee Schnetter 12; Colter Bales 9; Emmet Renner 8; Eli Aby 5; Nick Pasquarello 3; Jace McNeil 2.

Havre 80, Glendive 68, LO

Glendive 10 21 17 20 – 68

Havre 17 28 14 21 – 80

Glendive – Riley Basta 15; Jentz Scarpholt 13; Max Eaton 10; Landon Palmer 10; Michael Murphy 9; Taven Coon 8; Parker Buckley 3.

Havre – Kellen Detrick 23; Jake Huston 22; Mason Rismon 14; Tyrel Kjersem 9; Clint Owens 3; Nolan Lofton 3; Josh Warp 3; Max Olson 2; Quinn Springer 1.