Ponies out to sweep Mustangs

Last season, the Havre High boys basketball team was swept by the Malta Mustangs. But come this Saturday, it will be the Blue Ponies that can finish off a season sweep as the two teams get set to meet in Havre.

The two Hi-Line rivals that play twice annually, will meet again inside the HHS gymnasium at 5:30 p.m., and with a win, the Ponies will not only get their fourth win of the season, they will also enact some revenge on their Class B rivals.

While non-conference games usually take on less meaning in high school basketball, the Malta game is still an important one for HHS. For starters, Havre is hoping to end a three-game losing streak that included a heartbreaking loss to Livingston last Saturday and a blowout loss on the road against CMR Tuesday. The Ponies could also use some momentum for the season's final push as the Eastern A Super Divisional is now just weeks away.

One of the biggest keys for Havre will be getting an offense going that has had its share of ups and downs this season. Before the CMR game, things were starting to click offensively and the team seemed to get past the loss of senior guard Jacob LaBrie. The Ponies had even scored at least 50 points in four of five games, before managing just 26 points against the Rustlers.

"We have had two different teams this year," HHS head coach Curt Leed said. "One team that comes right out and is ready to get after it from the get go and one team that is just there."

That was never more apparent than during the road trip to Malta in December, when the Ponies, who were 0-4 at the time, beat a solid Mustang's squad on the road 59-56. Yet since that game, Havre has a record of just 2-6, while Malta, on the other hand, has won six of its last seven games to push its record to 8-3.

Malta, which is the eighth-ranked team in Class B, brings a slew of talented players led by Nate Costin, who has been a key member of the squad for the past three seasons. Blake Sjostrom, Ostin Welch, Taylor Matthews and Jace Bishop are other key contributors for the Mustangs.

Havre will counter with the likes of Isaac Warp, Ivar Aageson, Tanner Parsons and Ryan Bakke. Nate Korb was the Ponies' leading scorer in the first meeting between the two teams, as he finished the game 17 points. He will be absent from Saturday's game for a family function, while Jacob LaBrie, who is out with an injury, scored 16, while Bakke and Aageson both had nine.

Korb, who also scored 14 recently against Livingston, boasts Havre's highest scoring average. Warp and Parsons both score 7.8 per night and Aageson is currently averaging seven points a game. The junior also leads HHS in 3-point percentage as he is knocking down 37 percent of his shots from beyond the arc. At a team, Havre is shooting 28 percent on threes and 38 percent from 2-point range.

Like always, a big key for the Ponies will be shooting the ball well. But Havre also needs to hold its own on the boards and limit turnovers, which have plagued them all season long.

"Malta is always a fundamentally sound team," Leeds said. "We just need to be patient on offense and get good shots and not give up a bunch of easy buckets off turnovers."

Havre and Malta will tip things off at approximately 5:30 p.m. Saturday inside the HHS gymnasium.