Thursday's Prep Basketball: Big day for Havre girls, Rocky Boy boys

A pair of area teams got their weekend off to the best start possible on Thursday. In Hamilton, the Havre Blue Ponies took a successful first step in defending their Class A state championship by beating the Hardin Bulldogs 64-54 in the first round of the 2015 State A girls tournament. The win pushed HHS through to Friday night's semifinal where the Ponies will face Hamilton at 8 p.m.

For full coverage of Havre's win, see Friday's Havre Daily News.

Meanwhile, in Shelby, the Rocky Boy Stars moved into the semifinals of the Northern B boys divisional tournament by beating No.1 ranked Glasgow Thursday night. The Stars beat the Scotties 56-43 to move within one game of reaching next week's Class B state tourney in Great Falls. Also at the Northern B Thursday, Harlem fell to Fairfield.

Thursday's Scores

The Associated Press

BOYS BASKETBALL

Eastern AA

Billings West 69, Butte 57

Western AA

Missoula Big Sky 47, Kalispell Glacier 41

Missoula Sentinel 65, Helena 56, 2OT

Northern B at Shelby

First Round

Choteau 62, Plentywood 15

Fairfield 53, Harlem 47

Rocky Boy 56, Glasgow 43

Shelby 56, Malta 55

Southern B at Billings (Metra)

First Round

Big Timber 63, St. Labre 52

Columbus 60, Colstrip 49

Huntley Project 63, Whitehall 43

Jefferson (Boulder) 72, Lodge Grass 64

Southern C at Miles City

First Round

Broadus 62, Plenty Coups 60

Broadview-Lavina 71, Jordan 56

Northern Cheyenne 74, Custer-Hysham 30

Park City 66, Wibaux 60

GIRLS BASKETBALL

Eastern AA

Billings West 68, Butte 27

Great Falls Russell 69, Billings Skyview 66, 2OT

Western AA

Kalispell Glacier 57, Missoula Hellgate 30

Missoula Big Sky 70, Helena 57

Southern B at Billings (Metra)

First Round

Colstrip 50, Red Lodge 20

Columbus 37, Jefferson (Boulder) 33

Forsyth 74, Townsend 37

Manhattan 77, St. Labre 40

State A at Hamilton

First Round

Billings Central 42, Lewistown (Fergus) 41

Butte Central 49, Columbia Falls 47

Hamilton 60, Frenchtown 42

Havre 64, Hardin 54

State C at Missoula (Univ. of Mont.)

First Round

Broadview-Lavina 43, Circle 39

Gardiner 44, Cascade 39

Saco-Whitewater 56, Belt 50

Twin Bridges 53, Park City 48