Blue Ponies show youth in weekend split

With a young team on hand, the Havre High boys basketball team looked to continue growing this past weekend with games against Fairfield and Browning. The Blue Ponies showed their age on the road Friday night when they suffered a 48-40 loss to Fairfield. But the Ponies then showed what they are capable of when they defeated Browning, 77-69, at Havre High Gymnasium Saturday.

"This weekend had a lot of good learning for us. It was a tale of two games for us," HHS head coach Walynn Burgess said. "They're young kids but I enjoy being around them because they want to come to work every day and get better and I really appreciate the way they came out and responded (against Browning)."

In the first quarter against Fairfield Friday night, the Ponies struggled to get going. Outside of a trio of free throws, the Ponies failed to score a basket in the opening quarter. While the Havre defense played well to limit the deficit to 14-3 to end the frame, it was a disappointing start to the weekend for the offense.

"They just had a lot of pressure. They had a good game plan ready for us and we didn't step up to the plate," Burgess said.

The Eagles continued to have control as they stretched their lead to 24-7 halfway through the second quarter. With their backs against the wall, the Ponies finally put something together as they went on a 10-0 run over the next few minutes.

Kash Keller got the run started with a 3-pointer and Tre Gary kept it rolling with four straight points. Keller then knocked down another three to cut the deficit to 24-17 with about two minutes left in the half.

However, the Eagles responded with a free throw and then a three from Cole Neal to give the Eagles a 28-17 lead at the halftime break. The Eagles then recaptured momentum in the third quarter to stretch their lead to 37-19.

But the Ponies did not let the game get away as they ended the thirds on a 10-3 run. Carter Spangler got rolling with a three and another basket to cut into the deficit. Before the buzzer ended the quarter, Jackson Headdress knocked down a three to cut Havre's deficit to 40-29.

The Ponies then opened the fourth on a 7-2 run. Xavier Butler got going with a basket and then a three to cut the deficit to 42-36 halfway through the fourth. However, the Eagles recovered and ended the game on a 6-2 run to win the game.

After a sluggish night on offense against Fairfield, the Ponies got started early against Browning Saturday. Crawford Terry started the game with a bucket and Butler made a three and a layup to make it 7-0. After a three from the Indians, Reid Kato scored to keep the Ponies rolling.

But the Indians got their own offense rolling as they responded with a 15-5 run. Brayds Vielle got hot for Browning with seven points during this stretch to help the Indians take an 18-14 lead after trailing early on. Terry and Shane Patacsil put an end to the run with a pair of buckets to tie the game, 18-18, to end the quarter.

The Ponies opened the second quarter with a 3-pointer from Spangler to retake the lead. Butler then made a free throw to stretch the lead to 22-18. After Browning went on a 4-0 run to tie the game again, Butler scored to give Havre the lead again. Robert Reagan then made a three to give Browning a 25-24 lead.

Through the rest of the half, the Ponies and Indians exchanged scores and the lead. With about a minute remaining in the half, the game was tied 36-36. Tristan Crawford gave the Indians the lead with a layup and Josh Horn made a pair of free throws to stretch the lead to 40-36.

In the closing moments of the half, Butler made a layup and one free throw to make it a 40-39 game heading into halftime. After only scoring 40 points against Fairfield the previous night, the Ponies already had 39 points in the first half.

"We had to bounce back really hard and I think we did that pretty well," Patacsil said about the offensive performance. "We played as a team. Everybody was knocking down shots and the defense did pretty well off the start."

Patacsil started the third quarter with a layup to give Havre the lead again but Vielle responded with a score of his own to take it right back for Browning. Later in the quarter, the Ponies took a 45-44 lead with a layup from Terry. After Browning responded with a 3-0 run to retake the lead, Gary knocked down a three to give Havre a 49-47 lead halfway through the third.

Over the rest of the third, the Ponies and Indians continued to exchange scores. After Browning took a 53-51 lead, Patacsil knocked down a shot to tie the game again. Then with 3.5 seconds remaining in the quarter, Butler got fouled on a 3-point attempt and knocked down all his free throws to give Havre a 56-53 lead heading to the fourth.

After exchanging scores throughout the game, the Ponies took control with a 6-2 run to start the fourth. The Indians responded to cut their deficit to 63-61, but the Ponies took back control with a 9-0 run to stretch their lead to 72-61 with about a minute left in the game. As they went down the stretch, Patacsil thinks the Ponies just executed.

"We just knocked down some free throws," Patacsil said. "We were just boxing out, not turning it over as much and putting pressure on the ball. I think that really turned the tables for us."

The Indians tried to come back, but the Ponies knocked down their free throws and played defense to secure the win. Butler led the Ponies with 24 points while Patacsil scored 13 points and Gary scored 12 points. Vielle led Browning with 22 points in the loss.

The Ponies are now 6-3 this season at the end of the weekend. As they get set to return to Northeast A competition, Burgess wants his players to learn from these games that they have to be ready from the jump in every contest moving forward.

"It can be anybody's night on any given night. It doesn't matter who it is, you got to come out ready to play," Burgess said. "We're just going to have to come out, have a good week, get ready to rock and roll and fight from there."

The HHS boys basketball team will next play on the road against Lewistown this Tuesday at 5:30 p.m.

Fairfield 48, Havre 40

HAV - 3 14 12 11 - 40

FAI - 14 14 12 8 - 48

HAV - Tre Gary 8, Shane Patacsil 8, Xavier Butler 7, Kash Keller 6, Carter Spangler 5, Crawford Terry 3, Jackson Headdress 3.

FAI - Tyson Schenk 19, Cooper Christenson 9, Cole Neal 6, Brian Ward 6, Owen Cartwright 5, Bryden Batson 5, Devon Lear 2.

Havre 77, Browning 69

BRW - 18 22 13 16 - 69

HAV - 18 21 17 21 - 77

BRW - Brayds Vielle 22, Tommy Running Rabbitt 9, Robert Reagan 7, Delbert Blackman 6, Maurice Redhorn 6, Payton Grant 6, Tristan Crawford 4, Isaiah Running Rabbitt 3, Mahkia Ehlers 2, Jamerson LazyBoy 2, Josh Horn 2.

HAV - Xavier Butler 24, Shane Patacsil 13, Crawford Terry 12, Tre Gary 10, Jackson Headdress 7, Kash Keller 6, Carter Spangler 3, Reid Kato 2.