Pony boys shoot down the Eagles

The Havre Blue Ponies got pushed but, in the end, the Ponies responded like a veteran team should.

Tuesday night in the HHS gymnasium, the Pony boys held off an impressive charge from the Class B Fairfield Eagles in a 63-52 win, which was Havre's third at home in less than a week.

The victory didn't come easy, and Blue Pony head coach Walynn Burgess was impressed with the fight in the Eagles.

"There's a reason they were state champs last year," Burgess said of Fairfield. "Those guys compete, they play hard, they're really well coached. Credit to them - they pushed us, they gave us a test, and we needed it."

Fairfield did test Havre and, in the end, the Ponies passed with flying colors.

Havre started strong with Josh Warp hitting pair of first-quarter 3-pointers, before back-to-back buckets from Max Olson put the Ponies ahead 20-12 at the end of the first frame. Warp canned another three in the second stanza, and so did Kellen Detrick, as the Ponies went up 33-20 at halftime. But no chance the Eagles were going away.

In the third quarter, Fairfield went on a 10-2 run and narrowed the gap all the way to 47-42. The Eagles were still within two possessions with less than five minutes to play, but that's when Warp came up clutch. The senior standout hit back-to-back triples to put Havre up by double digits again, while a key bucket from Isaac Pedraza and a near-perfect performance from the free-throw line by Detrick helped Havre put the game away.

"The boys answered the right way," Burgess said. "They were locked in down the stretch and they took care of business when they had to. There were mistakes, things we need to correct, but when we needed to most, they really did answer the call."

As has been the case all season, Detrick and Warp certainly answered the call. Detrick finished with 20 points and a 10-for-11 night from the foul line. Warp was spectacular from deep, hitting six threes on his way to 20 points and a great all-around game with his passing, too. Fellow seniors Olson and Clint Owens added another 13 points, while Fairfield got 19 points from Kaelob Flores in what will be the only meeting between the two this season.

"I am proud of how we played given the quick turnaround," Burgess said. "The boys did a nice job of coming back on a Tuesday night and getting the job done. And now it's time to get focused and go back out on the road."

Havre, which improved to 7-2 on the season, will return to the road Friday night when the Ponies face Glendive. Havre then travels to Billings for a non-conference showdown with the Billings Central Rams.

Havre 63, Fairfield 52

Fairfield 12 14 16 10 - 52

Havre 20 13 14 16 - 63

Fairfield - Conor Murray 9, Guidry Giles 6, Gavin Mills 3, Daniel Faith 10, Owen Cartwright-Gines 4, Kaelob Flores 19, Brayden Kolwyck 3.

Havre - Josh Warp 20, Max Olson 6, Nolan Lotton 2, Josh Currie 3, Isaac Pedraza 2, Kellen Detrick 23, Clint Owens 7.

Pony girls ground Eagles

While the Havre High boys were playing their third straight home game, the Blue Pony girls continued a road trip with a stop in Fairfield Tuesday night.

At one time, Havre and Fairfield had quite the Class A/B rivalry going, but in 2021, the Eagles were no match for the Ponies as Havre won easily, 80-42.

As has been the case all season, Havre gets contributions from up and down the lineup, but against the Eagles sophomore Yelena Miller had a monster game, scoring a season-high 27 points. Havre also got an outstanding game from Kylie Walker, who scored 10, while the Ponies topped 50 percent shooting in what was yet another double-digit victory.

After three straight road wins, the Ponies, who are now 8-1, will come home for a pair of big games this weekend. Friday night, Havre hosts the Glendive Red Devils in a Northeast A game, then Saturday, the Ponies welcome in the Billings Central Rams for a big Eastern A showdown.