Havre boys basketball looks to defend home court

After a couple weeks off for the holidays, the Havre High boys basketball team finally gets back on the court with a pair of games this weekend at the Havre High Gymnasium. First, the Blue Ponies will play conference opponent Miles City tonight and then will host Hardin Saturday. As they come out of the break, HHS head coach Walynn Burgess hopes that his team can get back in a groove and get 2022 started on the right foot.

"Coming out of break, we're hoping that we're ready to rock and roll," Burgess said. "We know there's going to be a little bit of rust from not being able to play games for a couple weeks but we liked our break, we liked being able to focus on us for a couple of weeks."

The Ponies will get the weekend started with a game against Miles City tonight at home. The Cowboys come into the game with a 1-4 record and 0-1 record in the Northeast A. Last season, the Ponies swept the Cowboys and won both games by an average of 12.5 points. However, the Cowboys have shown glimpses of strong play this season, such as an overtime loss to Billings Central.

The Cowboys have several players who can make them competitive. Dalton Polesky returns for his senior season after an all-state season last year for the Cowboys. Honorable mention all-conference player Ryder Lee is also having a strong season as a scorer and a rebounder. Along with its star players, Miles City has a deep bench to give Havre some trouble.

"They move the ball really well. They run a certain offense that we have to be ready for," Burgess said. "They're running pretty well, they're coming off the break, too, and we're just excited for the opportunity to get a chance to play them."

The Ponies will then play Hardin Saturday. The Bulldogs enter the weekend with a 3-3 record this season but ended 2021 on a two-game losing streak. However, they are not an opponent the Ponies should take lightly. Last season, Havre lost on the road to Hardin in overtime. In the postseason, Hardin defeated Havre to end the Ponies' season.

Hardin returns several players from that team that defeated the Ponies twice last year. Bryson Rogers returns for the Bulldogs after being named second team all-conference last season. Kevion Ladson is also looking to build off his honorable mention all-conference season. But Burgess believes Hardin's biggest strength comes from its players' tenacity.

"They always just play hard. They get after it," Burgess said. "We got to keep them in front of us, make them shoot difficult shots and lock up on our defensive end."

The Ponies went into their winter break with a 3-3 record and 1-2 conference record. As they try to move above .500 this weekend, Burgess believes their defensive intensity will need to be high.

"We live and die by (our defense). If we could sit down and play some defense, I think we'd be in any game," Burgess said. "When we give up those easy points and easy transitions, we're in an uphill battle. If we can lock in and take it one possession at a time on that defensive end, I feel like we set ourselves up for a much better ending."

Coming into the season, the Ponies had a young team which can be seen in their 3-3 start. As the Ponies have gotten more playing time, Burgess has seen growth that he hopes to see continue through this weekend and the rest of the season.

"Just the more court time we get and the more we're together, you can just see the sense of team, the sense of pride and being with one another," Burgess said. "The mistakes we were making back in November, we don't see those mistakes."

The Ponies will start the weekend doubleheader with a game tonight at 6. against Miles City at the HHS Gymnasium. The Ponies will then play Hardin at home on Saturday at 4 p.m.