Havre High basketball teams survive at Malta

Just like in both of their season openers against Laurel, the Havre High boys and girls basketball teams had to grind it out for victories Tuesday night at Malta. In the first game of the night, the boys needed a 10-point comeback in the fourth quarter and a go-ahead 3-pointer from Josh Currie to defeat Malta, 40-39.

“We just grinded to a victory. I was just really proud of the way they acted and kept their composure down the stretch,” HHS boys basketball head coach Walynn Burgess said. “They’re starting to grow and show the maturity of a team that eventually could make some noise.”

The boys game started the same way it ended: a Currie 3-pointer to give Havre the lead. Through the first quarter, the Ponies and Mustangs exchanged leads. The Ponies were able to grab momentum in the last minute and a half with a 7-1 run. After a layup from Currie to take an 11-10 lead, Xavier Butler scored five points down the stretch, including a 3-pointer before the buzzer to give Havre a 16-12 lead at the end of the quarter.

After a Malta score to open the quarter, Butler made his second straight three to extend Havre’s lead. But over the next seven minutes, the Ponies struggled to put the ball in the basket again. The Mustangs used their defense to get their offense going as they scored seven straight points to take a 21-19 lead over Havre with just over four minutes left in the half. A few moments later, Jevin Jenkins made a layup to tie the game, but that would be it for the half as neither team scored in the last four minutes.

The Havre offense continued to struggle in the third quarter, but Malta finally found a rhythm. Over the first seven minutes of the half, the Mustangs scored six straight points to take a 27-21 lead. Caleb Spangler finally responded with a layup to give Havre its first score with three minutes left in the quarter. But Malta maintained momentum en route to a 33-25 lead heading to the fourth quarter.

The Mustangs maintained control in the fourth quarter as they built a 39-29 lead with just over two and a half minutes left in the game. With little time left, the Havre offense finally woke up in a big way with an 11-0 run. Crawford Terry got the run started with a pair of free throws to cut the deficit to single digits. The last two minutes of the game then became the Currie show.

He first nailed a three to cut the deficit to five points with just over a minute left. After a missed free throw by Malta, he nailed a corner three to make it a two-point game with just under a minute left. Malta missed another free throw to keep Havre in the game and Currie took advantage as his prayer from deep made it through the basket to give Havre a 40-37 lead with 3.5 seconds left on the clock. Malta then missed its final shot of the game to complete the stunning Havre comeback.

“He’s a shooter for a reason. He puts a lot of extra time in,” Burgess said about Currie. “Whenever he shoots it, we think it’s going in and just glad he got there at the last little bit.”

Currie finished the game with 19 points as he made five 3-pointers in the game. Butler finished the game with 10 points and Spangler chipped in five points. Conner Tuss led the Mustangs with 18 points in the game.

Havre girls hold off Malta

The girls did not have it much easier in their game against Malta. Early on, Havre’s defense allowed the Ponies to jump out to a huge lead. But Malta battled back and even took the lead in the fourth. The Ponies were then able to gather themselves to retake the lead and hold off Malta for a 43-40 victory.

The HHS girls basketball team started the game hot thanks to strong defensive pressure. In the first four minutes of the game, the M-Ettes committed several turnovers that allowed Havre to jump out to a quick 13-0 lead. During this early run, Yelena Miller led the Ponies with six points.

Malta finally scored halfway through the first but the Ponies continued to control the game on their way to a 23-7 lead. But the M-Ettes responded defensively to get back in the game as they held Havre to only four points in the second quarter. They also got their offense going to cut their deficit to 27-22 at the half.

The M-Ettes carried their momentum into the third quarter as they continued to stifle the Havre offense. The only points the Ponies could muster in the third were a pair of layups from Miller and one free throw from Sadie Filius. The M-Ettes continued to chip away at the lead until Havre only led 33-31 at the end of the third.

Malta’s momentum carried into the fourth where the M-Ettes eventually took a three-point lead late in the game. But Filius came through for the Ponies with a 3-pointer to tie the game. After a stop, Lacy Preeshl made a layup to give Havre the lead. The Ponies then made some free throws to finally put the game away. While his players made some clutch shots, HHS head coach Dustin Kraske believes their defensive ability to get stops led them to victory.

“Defensively, in the last minute of the game we played very well. Everyone was communicating well,” Kraske said.

Miller finished the night with 14 points and she made all six of her free throw attempts. Avery Carlson scored 11 points and Filius scored six for the Ponies. For the M-Ettes, Kylee Anderson, Allison Kunze and Addy Anderson all scored ten points each in the losing effort.

With the wins, both teams improved to 2-0 on the season and hope to use the tough wins on the road as another building block in their seasons. Kraske hopes that his team’s defensive efforts against Malta can be carried forward.

“We got to keep working defensively. Obviously, we like to put some pressure on the basketball. Everybody has to commit to doing that so we’ll continue working on that,” Kraske said. “Got to continue to work offensively, moving the ball side to side and then catch in rhythm to shoot the basketball.”

Both teams will next play Billings Central this Saturday at 3:30 p.m. The HHS girls basketball team will head to Billings for the game and the HHS boys basketball team will host the Rams at Blue Pony Gymnasium.

Havre 43, Malta 40

HAV - 23 4 6 10 - 43

MAL - 10 12 9 9 - 40

HAV - Yelena Miller 14, Avery Carlson 11, Sadie Filius 6, Jade Wendland 5, Lizzi Haney 4, Lacy Preeshl 3.

MAL - Allison Kunze 10, Addy Anderson 10, Kylee Nelson 10, Maddie Williamson 5, Justine Lamb 3, Brylee French 2.

Havre 40, Malta 39

HAV - 16 5 4 15 - 40

MAL - 12 9 12 6 - 39

HAV - Josh Currie 19, Xavier Butler 10, Caleb Spangler 5, Caden Jenkins 2, Jevin Jenkins 2, Crawford Terry 2.

MAL - Conner Tuss 18, Rex William 9, Jonathan Siewing 7, Jared Eccebracht 5.