THEY'RE BACK: Havre High boys returning to state with a fourth-place finish at the Eastern A

Heading into the Eastern A Divisionals at the First Interstate Arena in Billings this past week, the Havre high boys basketball team just had one goal: win two games to qualify for the Class A State Tournament. Things did not start great for the Blue Ponies as they lost to Laurel Wednesday to start the tournament. But with the season on the line, the Ponies rallied.

First, they battled Hardin to pull out a 58-57 to win their first game of the tournament. The Ponies then pulled out a 54-51 win in a tough contest against Billings Central to make it to the consolation game. Even though the Ponies lost, 48-42 to Laurel Saturday afternoon, they clinched a spot in the Class A State Tournament for the first time since 2016. After a loss to start the tournament, HHS head coach Walynn Burgess was proud of how the Ponies responded over the weekend.

“They’re capable of doing anything if they really put their minds to it and do it as a team. We’ve been talking all year about peaking at the right time to finish the year,” Burgess said. “Just really proud of the boys for the way they responded and couldn’t be happier with them.”

The Ponies started the run Friday morning with a 58-57 win over Hardin in a loser-out game. Looking to keep the season alive, the Ponies started the game with buckets from Isaac Pedraza and Caleb Spangler. But the Bulldogs responded with eight straight points to take the lead. Hance Three Irons got things rolling with a 3-pointer and a bucket during this stretch.

The Ponies struggled to find offense in the first quarter as the Bulldogs took an 18-7 lead into the second. Keenan Wuttunee and Three Irons scored some more baskets for Hardin to stretch the lead to 22-9 to start the second.

Havre got on a run as Xavier Butler got rolling with a trio of free throws and a three to cut the deficit to 24-17. But Hardin retook control to extend the lead to 31-19 late in the half. The Ponies found some momentum with a Tre Gary free throw and a Crawford Terry layup to cut the deficit to 31-22 heading into halftime.

After a Hardin score to start the third quarter, the Ponies went on a 9-2 run. Butler continued to make his presence felt with a free throw and a three. Shane Patascil also got in on the action as his three cut the deficit to 35-31.

Trying to hold onto the lead, Gunner Plenty knocked down a jumper and Kingston Hugs made a three to stretch the lead to 40-31. The Ponies then responded with a barrage of threes to tie the game. Patascil and Butler knocked down some threes before Terry nailed another one from deep to knot things up with three minutes remaining in the third.

Kingston and Troy Hugs made their deep shots to give Hardin the lead again but the Ponies continued to battle to cut the deficit to 47-45 heading to the fourth. The Bulldogs tried to maintain control as they extended the lead to 53-47 early in the fourth. Butler made a layup and one free throw and then four straight free throws from Patascil gave Havre a 54-53 lead.

The Bulldogs made a free throw and then a layup to retake the lead. The Bulldogs and Ponies exchanged free throws and then Gary got his layup to go on to tie the game, 57-57, with 16 seconds left on the clock.

The Bulldogs tried to take the lead on their next possession but an offensive foul turned the ball over and sent Caden Jenkins to the free throw. With 0.5 seconds left on the clock, Jenkins made a free throw to take the lead and missed the second. The Bulldogs were able to call a timeout with 0.2 seconds left but they could not create a miracle on their final possession of the year.

Butler finished the game with 18 points while Patascil contributed 14 points and Spangler chipped in 10. Three Irons, Wuttunee and Kingston Hugs each scored 11 points in the Bulldogs’ final game of the season. With their season on the line, Burgess was proud of how his team battled.

“We knew we’d have to give some body punches and we knew we’d take some. We just ended up throwing enough in the end that we had a chance to win,” Burgess said. “They just kept fighting. They never stopped believing and just played really hard.”

The Ponies qualified for the consolation game and for a spot in state after defeating Billings Central, 54-51, in a loser-out game Thursday morning at Lockwood High School. The Rams made the Ponies earn it as they came to play early on. The Rams got things rolling early to take a 4-0 lead. After Jenkins got Havre on the board, JJ Snachez knocked down a 3-pointer to give the Rams a 7-2 lead.

The Ponies responded with a 7-0 run. Jenkins got it started with a three and a few minutes later, Gary made a layup and one free throw to give Havre a 9-7 lead. The Rams swung back with eight straight points to retake the lead. Jenkins got a shot to go down to cut the Rams’ lead to 15-11 to end the opening quarter.

The Rams started the second period strong to stretch the lead to 23-15 but the Ponies found their rhythm to cut into the deficit. A three from Terry at the buzzer cut the deficit to 25-24 at the halftime break.

Pedraza knocked down a free throw to tie the game early in the third but the Rams responded with a 5-0 run to retake the lead. The Ponies and Rams then exchanged buckets to leave the Rams with a 32-27 lead. Butler and Patascil knocked down back-to-back threes for the Ponies to give Havre a 33-32 lead late in the quarter.

The Ponies and Rams fought each other over the next few minutes as they tied the game, 38-38, with less than two minutes left in the period. Kyler Northrup then knocked down a three to give the Rams a 41-38 lead heading to the fourth.

With their season on the line, the Ponies started the fourth on an 11-0 run. Pedraza got the quarter started with back-to-back buckets for Havre. Later in the run, Patascil made a pair of free throws and then a three to give Havre a 49-41 lead.

The Rams tried to claw their way back but the Ponies made timely free throws to hold a 52-48 lead with under two minutes left in the game. The Rams continued to battle as a free throw and a bucket cut the deficit to 52-51 with about a minute remaining. Patascil was able to knock down some free throws to build a three-point game and the Rams were unable to tie the game.

Patascil and Jenkins each scored 11 points for the Ponies. Northrup led the Rams with 14 points in their final game of the year. The Ponies lost to the Rams by 14 points back in December at home, but Burgess believes the Ponies’ urgency led them to victory this time out.

“They were locked in from the start. They knew they were going to be in for a battle,” Burgess said. “Those kids just never gave up and they just believe in what we’ve been doing all year. It’s fun to be around that when the kids are like that.”

The Ponies’ run came to an end with a 48-42 loss to Laurel Saturday afternoon at the Metra. The Ponies and Locomotives exchanged scores to start the game but Laurel eventually took a 12-6 advantage in the first quarter.

The Ponies found some momentum with a 9-3 run to end the opening frame. Terry got it started with a layup and one free throw. After a three by Laurel, Gary and Jevin Jenkins scored some buckets for the Ponies. Gary then made a pair of free throws to tie the game, 15-15, heading to the second quarter.

The second quarter saw both teams struggle to score. Emmett Renner got a layup and then a free throw to give Laurel the lead again. Halfway through the quarter, Josh Currie connected from deep to knot things up again. The last score of the half came on a Kyson Moran three to give Laurel a 21-18 lead at halftime.

Butler started the second half strong for the Ponies. He got on a personal 6-0 run with three buckets to give Havre a 24-21 lead early in the half. But the Locomotives regained control with an 8-0 run to retake the lead. The Ponies continued to fight to tie the game but some buckets from the Locomotives gave them a 33-31 lead heading to the fourth.

The Locomotives started the fourth quarter strong to build a 46-36 lead. The Ponies made some free throws to try to get back in it but Laurel held on for the win. After playing three straight loser-out games, the Ponies had just run out of steam.

“Being off that emotional high and that quick turnaround, we just ran out of gas,” Burgess said. “But I’m proud of the way that we responded to punch our ticket to the big dance. We just wish we could have finished it out the right way and got that trophy.”

In the final game of the tournament, Butler led the Ponies with 12 points. The Locomotives were led to victory by Moran with his 17 points. Despite the loss, the Ponies qualified for the Class A State Tournament in Missoula beginning next week. While the road ahead of them will be tough, Burgess and the Ponies are happy that they still have games to play.

“Just knowing that we got another opportunity to play basketball for two more weeks is what we’re excited about. There’s only nine teams in the state and we’re one of them so we couldn’t be happier with that” Burgess said. “It really makes you happy to be a part of something like that and I couldn’t be happier with them.”

The Ponies will begin the Class A State Tournament March 9 at noon at the University of Montana in Missoula.

Havre 58, Hardin 57, LO

HAV - 7 15 23 13 - 58

HAR - 18 13 16 10 - 57

HAV - Xavier Butler 18, Shane Patascil 14, Caleb Spangler 10, Crawford Terry 5, Tre Gary 5, Isaac Pedraza 3, Josh Currie 2, Caden Jenkins 1.

HAR - Hance Three Irons 11, Keenan Wuttunee 11, Kingston Hugs 11, Elisa Stops at Pretty Place 10, Troy Hugs 5, Tommy McCormick 4, Jadence Archilita 3, Gunner Plenty 2.

Havre 54, Billings Central 51, LO

BC - 15 10 16 10 - 51

HAV - 11 13 14 16 - 54

BC - Kyler Northrup 14, Zach Herriford 13, JJ Sanchez 9, Cayden Merchant 7, Braydon Osse 3, AJ Ulrichs 2, Clay Oven 2, Janis Junemann 1.

HAV - Shane Patascil 11, Caden Jenkins 11, Isaac Pedraza 8, Tre Gary 7, Terry Crawford 5, Caleb Spangler 4.

Laurel 48, Havre 42, 3rd

LAU - 15 6 12 15 - 48

HAV - 15 3 13 11 - 42

LAU - Kyson Moran 17, Dalton Boehler 12, Konnor Gregerson 6, Emmet Renner 5, Shel Osborne 4, Bennett McMorris 2, Hunter Ward 2.

HAV - Xavier Butler 12, Tre Gary 9, Shane Patascil 5, Jevin Jenkins 4, Caleb Spangler 4, Josh Currie 3, Crawford Terry 3, Caden Jenkins 2.