Havre boys heading to state

After several months of hard work, the Havre High boys basketball team will wrap up the season with the Class A State Tournament in Butte this weekend. As the Blue Ponies step onto the court for the last time this year, they hope to go on a deep run.

The Ponies open the tournament Thursday at 5 p.m. with a game against the Hamilton Broncs. Hamilton enters the tournament with a 19-2 record and is coming off a Western A Divisional championship. The Ponies will need to slow down Hamilton's top players in Canaan Magness and Tyler Jette.

The Ponies enter the contest with a 16-6 record and are coming off a fourth-place finish in the Eastern A Divisionals. If the Ponies are going to beat Hamilton and go on a run, they will need players such as Tre Gary and Shane Patacsil to get going.

The Class A State Tournament will begin earlier on Thursday at 9 a.m. when the Butte Central Maroons and the Glendive Red Devils face off. Butte Central enters the weekend with a 17-4 record and just placed second in the Western A Divisionals. This season, the Maroons have been led by the likes of Owen McPartland and Jack Keeley.

The Glendive Red Devils are 11-12 this season but just finished third in the Eastern A Divisionals. If the Devils are going to go on a run this weekend, they will need strong play from Carter Amsler and others.

The tournament will continue Thursday at 10:30 a.m. when the Lewistown Golden Eagles and the Columbia Falls Wildcats meet up. Lewistown is 10-11 this year and is coming off a second-place finish in the Eastern A Divisionals. The Eagles will look to Brody Jenness and others to lead the way.

Columbia Falls is 14-8 this year and just took fourth in the Western A Divisionals. The Wildcats will need top players such as Jace Hill and Cody Schweikert to play well for them this weekend.

Later on Thursday at 3:30 p.m., the Billings Central Rams and Dillon Beavers will play each other. The Rams have been stellar this year with a 19-2 record and an Eastern A Divisional championship. As the Rams look to cap off their season with a title, they will look to Kyler Northrup and Darcy Merchant to lead the way.

The Dillon Beavers just took third in the Western A Divisionals to qualify for state and improve their record to 17-5 this season. The Beavers will need top players such as Carter Curnow and Kyler Engellant to play well in order to go on a deep run.

The tournament's semifinal games will be on Friday at 3:30 and 5 p.m. Then on Saturday, the consolation game will be at 3:30 p.m. and then the state championship game will be at 6:30 p.m. With a strong field of teams in the tournament, teams will have to play their best in order to be the last ones standing.

The HHS boys basketball team will start the Class A State Tournament in Butte Thursday at 5 p.m. with a game against Hamilton.