Havre boys basketball splits weekend doubleheader

Coming into this winter, the Havre High boys basketball team is young and has many new faces. The Blue Ponies' youth was exemplified this past weekend when they played Glendive and Sidney at Havre High Gymnasium. Friday, Havre lost to Glendive, 60-47, after leading at halftime and then Saturday, they came back from a halftime deficit for a 47-39 win over Sidney.

"Just a lot of growing pains and a lot of growing for us right now," HHS head coach Walynn Burgess said. "It's a process and I think the kids are enjoying the part of that process and I know we are as a coaching staff but it's just taking a little time to get there."

While Friday's game against Glendive did not go their way, the Ponies did get off to a strong start against the Red Devils. In the first couple minutes of the game, Caden Jenkins scored all eight points for the Ponies in an 8-0 run to start the game.

However, the Devils came back to tie the game, 11-11, with just under a minute and a half left in the opening frame. In the final moments, Isaac Pedraza made a 3-pointer from the corner to give Havre an 14-11 lead to end the first.

The Ponies used that three to create momentum to start the second quarter with a 9-3 run. Crawford Terry led the Ponies with three points during the run to help them to a 23-14 lead halfway through the second.

Glendive again battled back with an 8-5 run to end the half but Havre went into halftime with a 28-22 lead. Burgess credits the Ponies' defensive efforts for leading them to their advantage at the half.

"We just got after it defensively. We were pretty locked in from the start," Burgess said. "Proud of the way we came out that half for sure."

Early through the third quarter, it looked like the Ponies would maintain momentum. With just under two and a half minutes left in the third, a three from Pedraza made it 39-32. But the Devils came back again as they ended the quarter on a 7-1 run to cut their deficit to one point.

In the first minute of the fourth quarter, Michael Murphy made a layup to give Glendive a 41-40 lead. After a Glendive free throw, Caleb Spangler made a layup to tie the game, 42-42, with six and a half minutes left. The Devils responded with a layup from Taven Coon to retake the lead and Havre answered right back with a layup from Xavier Butler to tie it again.

But over the last five minutes of the game, Glendive took full control. After a layup and one free throw from Riley Basta to take the lead, the Devils ended the game on a 16-3 run to run away with the game. The only points for the Ponies in crunch time came from free throws from Josh Currie and Pedraza.

Basta led the Devils with 24 points in the game while Murphy scored 14 in the win. Butler led the Ponies with 14 points in the losing effort.

On Saturday, the Ponies defeated Sidney, but they still faced adversity. After Havre raced out to an 11-4 lead, the Eagles came roaring back to take a 12-11 lead. Havre responded with a layup from Butler but Chance Waters made a layup to give Sidney a 14-13 lead at the end of the first quarter.

The Eagles carried that momentum into the second quarter. Parker Sinks led the way for the Eagles in the quarter as he scored ten of their 13 points in the frame. Meanwhile, the Ponies only scored seven points as they went into halftime trailing 27-20.

"They just came out playing really hard. Their coach had them ready to rock and roll," Burgess said about Sidney's first-half performance. "They had a lot of energy and they're flying around. We just came out very flat."

But the Ponies did not look flat to start the third quarter. Jenkins got things started with a jumper and one free throw to cut the deficit to four points. After a Sidney free throw, Spangler went on a personal 6-2 run for the Ponies to cut their deficit to one. After a sluggish first half, Spangler wanted to come out of halftime with more energy.

"We came out and just said, 'We got to play hard no matter who they are,'" Spangler said. "We kind of just flipped that switch and we started rolling."

In the final minutes of the third, Terry made a layup to tie the game, 31-31. He got fouled on the play, so he went up to the free-throw line and made the attempt to give Havre the lead to end the quarter.

Sidney fought back to tie the game, 34-34, early in the fourth but the Ponies responded to retake control. Shane Patascil got it started with a pair of free throws to give Havre the lead. Jenkins then made a corner three to push out the lead. After a Sidney score, Currie then made a corner three to give Havre 42-36 lead with just under three minutes left.

A free throw from Sinks and a layup from Jerome Entz cut the Havre lead to three points with just over a minute and a half left. But free throws and strong defense down the stretch gave Havre the victory. After falling behind in the first half, Burgess was proud of how his team played to come back in the second half.

"Kids were flying around. Kids were getting on the floor," Burgess said. "Just did a couple different things defensively to frustrate them a little bit and get them into some rushed shots."

Butler and Jenkins each scored 12 points in the game. Spangler and Currie also made an impact with eight points each. Waters and Entz each scored 14 points for the Eagles in the losing effort.

The Ponies are now 3-2 this season and are 1-1 to start Northeast A competition. As his young team continues to grow and mature, Burgess hopes that they have learned to not take any opponent for granted.

"We just can't roll the ball out. No matter who is in front of us, we got to come out ready to play," Burgess said.

The Ponies will finish up their December schedule when they host Lewistown at HHS Gymnasium this Tuesday at 7:30 p.m.

Glendive 60, Havre 47

GLE - 11 11 17 21 - 60

HAV - 14 14 12 7 - 47

GLE - Riley Basta 24, Michael Murphy 14, Taven Coon 12, Max Eaton 6, Parker Buckley 4.

HAV - Xavier Butler 14, Isaac Pedraza 8, Caden Jenkins 8, Josh Currie 5, Shane Patascil 5, Caleb Spangler 4, Crawford Terry 3.

Havre 47, Sidney 39

SID - 14 13 4 8 - 39

HAV - 13 7 12 15 - 47

SID - Jerome Entz 14, Parker Sinks 14, Chance Waters 8, Braylon DiFanzo 3.

HAV - Xavier Butler 12, Caden Jenkins 12, Caleb Spangler 8, Josh Currie 8, Shane Patascil 4, Crawford Terry 3.