Havre boys basketball loses heartbreaker in play-in game

With the season on the line, the Havre High boys basketball team found itself in a dog fight against Columbia Falls Saturday afternoon. In a play-in game for the Class A State Tournament, the Blue Ponies and Wildcats went back and forth at Butte Civic Center.

Despite trailing late in the fourth quarter, the Ponies came back to force overtime. However, the Wildcats took control in overtime to win, 82-74, and to end the Ponies’ season. Having the season to end like this is a tough pill to swallow, but HHS head coach Walynn Burgess was proud of how his team battled throughout the afternoon.

“Playing in the play-in game is always going to be tough. In a win-or-go-home situation, it felt like the boys came out and gave a good effort. They battled the whole game,” Burgess said. “That was a very good Columbia Falls team. That’s a good team that’s going to state right now. We just felt like if a couple different bounces go our way, it’s a different story.”

It was a back and forth affair from the jump. Every time one team scored in the first quarter, the other team would respond to keep pace. With Havre holding an 11-10 lead, the Wildcats went on a quick 5-0 run to take a 15-11 lead.

The Ponies ended the first quarter on a 6-3 run. After a Havre 3-pointer, the Wildcats knocked down a trio of free throws. Reid Kato then capped off the first with a three to cut Havre’s deficit to 18-17.

Carter Spangler opened the second quarter with a three to give Havre a 20-18 lead. But the Wildcats responded with a 6-0 run to take a 24-20 lead. Through most of the second, the Wildcats maintained their advantage as they held a 34-29 lead with just under two minutes left in the half.

Just before halftime, Xavier Butler got on a roll with a pair of threes to give Havre a 35-34 lead. After some free throws from the Wildcats, Crawford Terry knocked down a free throw to make it a 36-36 game heading into halftime.

Terry opened the third quarter with a three to give Havre the lead. After a Columbia Falls basket, Tre Gary made a layup and then a pair of free throws to give the Ponies a 43-38 lead. But with the help of a pair of threes, the Wildcats responded to tie the game, 45-45, late in the third.

Over the next few minutes, the Ponies and Wildcats exchanged baskets. Jackson Headdress gave Havre a 50-49 lead with a three late in the quarter. But the Wildcats got buckets from Reggie Sapa and Hunter Goodman to take a 53-50 lead heading to the fourth.

The Wildcats pushed their lead out to 56-50 to start the fourth. The Ponies tried to retake momentum, but Columbia Falls was able to build itself a 63-54 lead with just over five minutes left in regulation.

Kato went on a 4-0 run to cut the deficit to 63-58. After a pair of Wildcat free throws, Terry scored to keep Havre in the game. Goodman scored to give Columbia Falls a 67-60 lead, but Havre responded with free throws from Shane Patacsil and a layup from Spangler to quickly make it a 67-64 game with just over two minutes remaining.

Over the next few moments, the teams exchanged free throws until it was a 70-66 game with just over a minute remaining. After Terry scored to make it a two-point game, Jace Hill knocked down a pair of free throws to give Columbia Falls a 72-68 lead with 27.1 seconds left in regulation.

With time running out, Headdress knocked down a three to cut the deficit to 72-71. The Ponies then forced a turnover to give themselves a chance to take the lead. On the ensuing possession, the Wildcats fouled Butler and sent him to the free-throw line. Butler made one of his two attempts at the line to tie the game. The Wildcats then missed their shot at the buzzer to send the game to overtime.

“They always know they’re never out of a game no matter how much time’s left on the clock and they’re going to keep playing until that final buzzer goes off,” Burgess said about their run to force overtime. “They started forcing some turnovers with just a little pressure and they just believed that they could still win the game. They fought their butts off for it.”

But the Ponies were unable to carry their momentum into the start of overtime. The Wildcats started the period with free throws from Goodman and a bucket from Cody Schweikert to take a 76-72 lead. After a free throw from Kash Keller, the Wildcats made another pair of baskets to push their lead to 80-73. With less than a minute remaining, the Ponies were unable to produce another run as they lost to end their season.

“Columbia Falls is a good team. They’re really balanced, well coached and they do a lot of good stuff,” Burgess said about the Wildcats’ run in overtime. “They went and hit a couple shots real quick and we just didn’t get good possessions and they were able to get a lead.”

In the Ponies’ final game of the season, Butler led the team with 18 points. Terry scored 16 and Kato recorded 11 points in the losing effort. Columbia Falls was led by Hill with 17 points. Goodman and Schweikert both scored 15 points to help lead the Wildcats to victory.

With the loss, the Ponies saw their season come to an end. The Ponies finished the season with a 14-9 record and they finished fourth in the Eastern A Divisional to find themselves in Saturday’s play-in game.

The Ponies will return most of their players next year. The Ponies will miss the likes of Butler and Terry, who will both graduate this year. But if they can carry over their work ethic into next season, the Ponies should have another chance late next season.

“They just had the complete attitude that they wanted to come in and work every single day and that’s something they can hang their hats on for life. It’s just a good group of boys,” Burgess said about the Ponies this year. “We’re excited about what we got but it really just stings right now.”

Columbia Falls 82, Havre 74, OT

HAV - 17 19 14 22 2 - 74

CF - 18 18 17 19 10 - 82

HAV - Xavier Butler 18, Crawford Terry 16, Reid Kato 11.

CF - Jace Hill 17, Hunter Goodman 15, Cody Schweikert 15, Mark Robinson 12, Alihn Anderson 11.