Havre boys basketball takes care of business against Malta

Last December, the Havre High boys basketball team played its most exciting game of the season at Malta as the Blue Ponies needed an 11-0 run to end the game to pull out a 40-39 win. But Tuesday night at Havre High Gymnasium, the Ponies pulled away early for a 68-51 win over the Mustangs.

"I just really loved our effort from start to finish. From one through 12, our guys were just locked in," HHS head coach Walynn Burgess said. "We just understood we had to take care of business."

The Mustangs did play well to start the game. Rex Williamson got the game started with a 3-pointer to give Malta the lead. Isaac Pedraza responded with a bucket and Caleb Spangler knocked down a free throw to tie the game. Off a missed shot, Caden Jenkins tipped in the ball to give Havre a 5-3 lead. Moments later, he made a free throw to make it 6-3. A pair of buckets from Jared Eggebrecht and Kaden Bishop gave Malta a 7-6 lead halfway through the quarter.

But the Ponies took control with seven straight points. Xavier Butler got the run started with a bucket and Shane Patascil followed it up with a basket off an offensive rebound. Tre Gary then made a three from the corner to give Havre a 13-7 lead. The Mustangs made some plays at the end of the quarter but the Ponies led, 16-11, heading into the break.

Stockton Oxarart made a 3-pointer for the Mustangs to start the second, but the Ponies controlled the rest of the half. Butler got their run started with a 3-pointer and Pedraza followed it up with a basket of his own to make it 21-14. After a Malta score, Jenkins made another basket for the Ponies.

The Mustangs tried to keep up as they cut the deficit to 25-18. But the Ponies scored seven straight points to make it 32-18 late in the half. Jenkins continued to make plays as he scored a 3-pointer and a layup off an offensive rebound. Burgess believes the Ponies got their offense on a roll because they got things going down low which opened things up outside.

"Inside-out looks are exactly what we want," Burgess said. "We're just attacking the rim and putting the pressure on them. Putting them on their heels is the way you want to play them."

Even with the lead, the Ponies played strong to end the half. After the Mustangs cut the lead to 35-22 with under two minutes left, Patascil and Spangler made a couple of baskets to stretch the lead. In the closing seconds of the half, Josh Currie drained a 3-pointer to make it, 42-22, at halftime.

"Playing at home in front of our fans helped us out a lot tonight," Currie said about the offensive explosion. "Tonight we just wanted to start out fast and we just carried that on throughout."

The Ponies held off the Mustangs for the rest of the game. The Mustangs could not even get the deficit under 20 points until there was a minute left in the third quarter. But the Ponies continued to pull away as they led, 66-44, late in the game. The Mustangs scored some late points but it was not enough to make it a game at the end.

Jenkins led the Ponies with 15 points while Butler chipped in 11 points in the winning effort. Patascil and Pedraza each scored eight points in the win as well. Eggebrecht led the Mustangs with 11 points.

The Ponies are now 6-6 on the season and have won their last two games. The win also completed the season sweep against a tough Malta squad. After a tight win the last time they played each other, Burgess believes the Ponies were just focused from the start this time.

"(We were) just playing as a unit. Those kids were pretty locked in to play together and we talk about it all the time, sharing is caring," Burgess said. "When we started sharing it around, everybody's touching it and everybody else started playing around, the energy just went up and we looked like a whole different team when we had that type of energy."

Burgess hopes to see that same energy when the Ponies face Lewistown Saturday at the Metra in Billings.

Havre 68, Matla 51

MAL - 11 11 15 14 - 51

HAV - 16 26 14 12 - 68

MAL - Jared Eggebrecht 11, Rex Williamson 9, Treyton Wicke 9, Seth Siewing 5, Kaden Bishop 5, Carson Ottinger 4, Jonathan Siewing 3, Stockton Oxarart 3, Bahdi Brenden 2.

HAV - Caden Jenkins 15, Xavier Butler 12, Shane Patascil 8, Isaac Pedraza 8, Caleb Spangler 7, Josh Currie 6, Tre Gary 6, Jevin Jenkins 4, Reid Kato 2.