Havre girls dominate, boys fall against Lewistown

Before they went on break to celebrate the holidays with their families, the Havre High basketball teams finished off 2021 with a doubleheader against their rival Lewistown at Havre High Gymnasium Tuesday night.

The HHS boys basketball team battled against Lewistown but ended the night with a 59-55 loss. The HHS girls basketball then dominated Lewistown for a 66-20 victory.

The Lewistown boys basketball team came into the game undefeated and are ranked no. 1 in the state. Meanwhile, the HHS boys basketball team is a young team still growing early in the year. While the Blue Ponies suffered the four-point loss, HHS head coach Walynn Burgess liked how they competed against the top team in the state.

"I was really proud of the way our boys responded. They battled from the opening tip until the end," Burgess said. "It's a good step for us going into Christmas break."

The Ponies started strong to take an early lead. Xavier Butler scored a layup to get the Ponies on the scoreboard. After a Lewistown free throw, Isaac Pedraza made a 3-pointer to give Havre a 5-1 lead less than two minutes into the game.

After the Eagles tied the game, 5-5, the Ponies went on a 7-2 run over the next minute. During this stretch, Butler, Pedraza and Caleb Spangler each scored a bucket for a 12-7 lead. Burgess believes the Ponies found an early rhythm because of defense and ball movement.

"We were just sharing it," Burgess said. "I thought our boys did a really good job defending and just knocked down a couple extra shots in that first quarter to give us that opportunity."

But the Eagles were able to wrangle momentum away from the Ponies when Fischer Brown went on a personal 8-2 run to give Lewistown a 17-14 lead at the end of the first quarter. The Ponies then responded at the beginning of the second quarter with a pair of 3-pointers from Josh Currie and Pedraza to take a 20-19 lead.

Over the rest of the quarter, the Eagles took control. Royce Robinson first gave the Eagles the lead when he made two free throws. A layup from Matt Golik then made it 23-20. After a Havre bucket from Pedraza, the Eagles scored five straight points to make it 28-22 halfway through the quarter. The Ponies tried to cut into the deficit but Lewistown maintained control en route to a 34-29 lead at halftime.

The Eagles continued to control the game through the first half of the third quarter. Brown continued to lead the way for the Eagles as they built a 42-31 lead. But a Currie three started a 9-4 run for the Ponies that cut their deficit to 46-40 at the end of the third.

Early on in the fourth, it looked like the Eagles would maintain control as they led 51-44 with just over five minutes left in the game. But with the game falling out of reach, the Ponies responded with a 6-0 run to get back in the game. The run started with Pedraza and Crawford Terry going a combined four-for-four at the charity stripe. Terry then made a layup to cut the deficit to one with just under four minutes left.

"The kids knew it was one possession at a time and they treated it that way. We just made a couple of stops and got a layup or two and that just gave us an opportunity there at the end," Burgess said.

But the Eagles responded with a 6-2 run of their own to make it 57-52. The Ponies again cut it one possession with a layup and one free throw from Pedraza but a score from Robinson in the closing seconds finally put the game out of reach for the Ponies.

Pedraza led the Ponies with 18 points while Brown led Lewistown with 24. The loss dropped the Ponies to 3-3 on the season and 1-2 to start Northeast A competition. As they head into their break, Burgess is proud of how the young team has grown so far this season.

"They're taking stuff a lot more seriously and getting there and we just love the fact that they want to go and compete," Burgess said.

After the boys game came to an end, the HHS girls basketball team took care of business against Lewistown. In the first quarter alone, the Ponies played strong on both ends of the court. In the first three minutes of the game, all five starters scored to give Havre a 10-0 lead. Over the rest of the first quarter, the Ponies stifled Lewistown and turned their mistakes into offense as they led 24-3 at the end of the first.

"I thought our kids played incredibly hard. They were very focused from the beginning to the end," HHS head coach Dustin Kraske said. "They were ready to go and they maybe showed us a glimpse of what they're capable of doing defensively."

In the second quarter, the Ponies continued to turn strong defense into offense as they built a 45-11 lead at halftime. Even in the third quarter with the game in control, the Ponies did not let up as they continued to build their lead to start a running clock and eventually coast to a 66-20 win.

"I think just coming out of the first half and knowing that we had that much energy, I think coming into the second, we had to keep it the same way and have the same exact energy," HHS senior Jade Wendland said.

Yelena Miller and Wendland each scored 14 points to lead the Ponies. Sadie Filius and Avery Carlson each scored 12 points in the win. The leading scorers for Lewistown were Brooke Weinheimer and Kiya Foran who each scored four points. With the win, the Ponies are now 5-1 this season and 3-0 in the Northeast A. As they head into their holiday break, Kraske feels good about where his team is at.

"I think we're on pace to maybe get to be the best team we can be," Kraske said. "I think everybody's starting to figure out the 'I got to play hard to play' type of mentality. We're playing together incredibly well. We got to continue to just work on technique and details of the game."

Both HHS basketball teams will next play Jan. 7 against Miles City. The HHS boys basketball team will host the Cowboys at HHS Gymnasium while the HHS girls basketball will head on the road for the matchup.

Lewistown 59, Havre 55

LEW - 17 17 12 13 - 59

HAV 14 15 11 15 - 55

LEW - Fischer Brown 24, Matt Golik 13, Bryce Graham 8, Royce Robinson 8, Maxx Ray 4, Luke Clinton 2.

HAV - Isaac Pedraza 18, Shane Patascil 7, Josh Currie 6, Crawford Terry 6, Xavier Butler 6, Tre Gary 5, Caleb Spangler 5, Jevin Jenkins 2.

Havre 66, Lewistown 20

LEW - 3 8 4 5 - 20

HAV - 24 21 18 3 - 66

LEW - Brooke Weinheimer 4, Kiya Foran 4, Ava Robinson 4, Aniya Ross 3, Lexi Burnham 3, Rylee Armstrong 2.

HAV - Jade Wendland 14, Yelena Miller 14, Sadie Filius 12, Avery Carlson 12, Lacy Preeshl 6, Lizzi Haney 4, Kyanna Jarvis 2, Danni Wirtzberger 1, Emilee Chambliss 1.