Stars hold off charging Ponies

Just last month, the Havre High boys basketball team was blown out in a rivalry game at Rocky Boy. And while the Blue Ponies didn’t beat the Stars in the rematch, the game itself was a much different story.

Rocky Boy came into the HHS gymnasium Saturday night and left with a 61-51 win, closing out its regular season. But the win didn’t come without a big fight from the Blue Ponies, who led 16-12 on a 3-point barrage.

Isaac Warp hit three 3-pointers in the first quarter, and Trey Murphy added another as Havre jumped out to a quick lead, that included an 11-2 spurt to start the game.

“That first half, I thought Havre did a really good job shooting the basketball and preventing us from getting the tempo we wanted,” Rocky Boy head coach Adam Demontiney said. “That was a tight first half, and they (Ponies) played really good.”

The first half was tight. But the Stars pulled ahead on 3-pointers by Chase Corcoran and Jerrell Gopher, as Havre managed just six points in the second frame, with Rocky Boy leading 23-22.

The Stars got even better in the third quarter, as they ripped off a 16-3 run. Even without star forward Ben Iron Eyes, Rocky Boy was running like it likes, and scoring layups, while forcing Havre into turnovers and miscues on the other end. A Bobby Personett triple quieted the run for a moment, but Rocky Boy went into the fourth quarter leading 43-31.

“I thought we were a lot more aggressive defensively in the third quarter,” DeMontiney said. “And we started pushing the tempo. A lot of people don’t think this team is built to run, but that’s my style and we’re gonna push it up the floor as much as we can.”

The Stars were pushing it, but in the last eight minutes, the Ponies pushed back. Warp opened the quarter with a three, and minutes later, Ivar Aageson scored three straight times, and Nate Korb added a layup which cut the Stars’ lead down to 51-47 with 4:22 play.

With the HHS gymnasium in a frenzy, the pace continued to be fast and furious, and when Aageson scored on a steal by Korb, Havre had fought back to within two with 2:41 to go. But on the ensuing possession, Corcoran drilled a long three, while Havre committed four turnovers on consecutive trips and didn’t score again. The Stars would score the final eight points of the game to give themselves a season sweep of the Blue Ponies.

Corcoran and Gopher were Rocky Boy’s high scorers, as the Stars snapped a three-game losing skid in the process.

“This was a really good win for us,” DeMontiney said. “Havre is a good basketball team, and we had lost three in a row. So this is exactly what we needed heading into the tournament.”

The Ponies, who were led by double digits from Warp, Korb and Aageson, are not quite to tournament season yet. Instead, Havre (3-14) has one very important game left — a senior day showdown with Browning next Saturday at home. That game will determine whether the Ponies play last-place Glendive, or fifth-place Miles City in one of the two Eastern A play-in games in two weeks in Billings.

Havre and Browning will tip off in the regular season finale at 2 p.m. this Saturday inside the HHS gymnasium.