Ponies set for final home games

Havre High girls basketball head coach Dustin Kraske should be more than happy about his team's undefeated conference record and league title. Instead, he was concerned that his team would not be able to have their senior night this week because their scheduled opponent, Browning, dropped out because of COVID-19 issues.

The Blue Ponies searched for a replacement in order to still honor their seniors and, thankfully, Fort Benton agreed to play the Ponies tonight at the Havre Middle School Gym.

"I'm excited for our kids," Kraske said. "They're a little frustrated with the fact that they have to play at the middle school but their excitement outweighs their frustration."

Even though the HHS gymnasium was open Thursday night, Fort Benton could not play there because of an MHSA policy that would not allow them to play on the same court that they will play on in the District 9C Tournament, which takes place next week in Havre.

Even though it won't be on their home court, HHS can now honor their seniors, Loy Waid, Kylie Walker, Britton Paulson, Quinn McDonald, Sydney Wilting and Kennedy Hampton, for their contributions to the Ponies' strong season.

"They're a privilege to coach and we're going to miss them. A lot of them have been waiting for their turn to play this year and they've played well," Kraske said. "They represent Havre well, always with first class."

Waid and Walker played on the varsity girls basketball team all four years of high school and were part of back-to-back Class A state championships their freshman and sophomore years, respectively. The way the Ponies have played so far this year, they may get their third title. By winning their first seven conference games, HHS has already clinched the best record in the Northeast A. They have a 10-2 overall record and are riding a two-game winning streak with road victories over Miles City and Hardin.

Fort Benton's strong season indicates it should provide a fight for the Ponies. The Longhorns are undefeated at 13-0 overall and 10-0 in the 9C.

"We're excited to play a quality opponent like Fort Benton," Kraske said. "It will be an exciting opportunity for us to get better."

The Ponies will then head out on the road to face Lewistown on Saturday night. The Golden Eagles are 2-3 in Northeast A conference play and 3-7 overall, compounded by their current four-game losing streak heading into this weekend. Havre dominated in the first matchup back on Jan. 2 as the Ponies won 60-29.

Despite their success this season, Kraske believes that his team has plenty to improve upon heading into the postseason.

"This is the time of the season where our fundamentals need to continue to be detailed. We need to do little things well and that's been our message all year and will continue to be," Kraske said. "We're trying to be the best team that we can by the first game of the divisional tournament."

Meanwhile, the Havre High boys basketball team already had their senior night this past Friday night with a victory over Miles City. Then, the Ponies were scheduled to play Browning at home Friday but Browning also had to drop out because of COVID-19 issues. However, the boys team found a replacement in local rival Rocky Boy. Rocky Boy is 6-5 overall and 6-3 in the District 1B. This will be the first matchup between these two teams this season. Havre and Rocky Boy had been playing each other for years in non-conference games, but scheduling changed in 2019, so it will be like old times to see the Ponies and Stars meet once again.

The Ponies then head on the road this Saturday afternoon to face Lewistown. If Lewistown wins their matchup with last-place Sidney Friday night, then the Ponies will be battling the Golden Eagles for the Northeast A title and number one seed in the Eastern A divisional.

Not only will Lewistown be hosting the decisive game, but it will be the Eagles senior night. However, Havre head coach Walynn Burgess does not believe these factors will affect his players.

"Our boys will be pretty locked in for a game like that. You get an opportunity to play for a conference championship. That's always a good deal and I feel like they're pretty locked in," Burgess said.

Heading into the weekend, HHS holds first place in the conference with a 6-1 record and Lewistown is right behind them with a 4-2 record. However, the Eagles have a better overall record at 8-3 compared to Havre's 7-4 record.

The Ponies defeated Lewistown in their conference opener Jan. 2 with a 54-37 opener. Lewistown has been one of the hottest teams in the league since then as they have won eight of their last nine games and are riding a three-game winning streak.

Burgess credits Lewistown head coach Scott Sparks and players such as Jalen Robinson, Fischer Brown and Isiah Marquet for the Eagles' success.

"They're a really well-coached team," Burgess said. "They just got pretty good talent that plays really well and really hard together, and we just know that we're going to have to be ready to play."

Like Kraske, Burgess believes that focusing on the small details will yield big results in the postseason.

"We're just trying to play our best at the very end of the season. I feel like we're going to start peaking at the right moment," Burgess said. "Do the little things that we can control and everything else will fall into place."

The busy final weekend for the Blue Ponies begins tonight with the Havre girls taking on Fort Benton at 5:30 at HMS. The Havre boys host Rocky Boy Friday at 5:30 p.m. then, the Pony girls play in Lewistown at 4 p.m. with the boys game set for 5:30.