By Tiffany L. Rehbein
Scoring five points in the third quarter did little to help the Havre Blue Ponies win their opening round game at the State Class A boys' basketball tournament.
Fourteen second-half points scored against the Glendive Red Devils, the No. 1 seed from the East, didn't help, either.
The Red Devils handed the Blue Ponies a 62-50 loss at MetraPark in Billings on Thursday.
The Blue Ponies, the No. 2 team from the Central, attacked early, holding a 16-8 first-quarter lead.
However, the Red Devils changed defenses and held the Ponies to just eight second-quarter points, while pouring in 17 offensively.
Glendive held a 25-24 halftime lead.
Alex Aldinger, the 6-foot-6 powerhouse inside for Glendive, knocked down his first 3-pointer of the game during the third quarter. It marked No. 13 on the season for the center who shoots 57 percent from beyond the arc. He scored 15 points in the game.
But the third quarter was disastrous for Havre, who did not score until 1:30 remained in the quarter. The bucket cut the Devils lead to 37-29.
Havre's big man, Landen Grant, led the Blue Ponies with 14 points, perfecting his reverse layup, and nine rebounds.
Scott Rice added 12 points, including the only two Havre 3-pointers.
Ricky Brown, the Blue Ponies leading scorer, was held to a season-low seven points. Brown, who averages nearly three 3-pointers per game, went 0-for-7 from beyond the arc.
Josh Schriver scored a game-high 20 points in the game.
The win marked the eighth-straight for Glendive, and its first state tournament win since 1991.
Last season, Havre knocked Glendive from the tournament with a 58-46 win in loser-out action on Friday afternoon.
Glendive (16-6) will play Stevensville at 6:30 p.m. in semifinal action on Friday. Stevi (21-1) has lost just two games during the past two years.
One of those losses came against the Dillon Beavers in last year's State A championship game. Stevi placed second.
Havre (12-10) will face Butte Central (16-7) in loser-out action at 12:30 p.m. on Friday.
Havre defeated Butte Central 55-43 last week in semifinal play.
Havre
16 8 5 21
50
Glendive
8 17 12 25
62
HAVRE (12-10)
Danny Wirtzberger 1-2 0-0 2, Landen Grant 7-11 0-0 14, Jesse Suek 02 0-0 0, Nate Baltrusch 4-10 1-3 9, Ricky Brown 2-10 3-3 7, Scott Rice 4-7 2-2 12, Cliff Cooper 2-4 2-3 6, Chris Young 0-0 0-0 0, Ryan Fink 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 20-46 8-11 50.
GLENDIVE (16-6)
Josh Schriver 7-11 5-8 20, Ross Eaton 1-7 6-6 8, Alex Aldinger 5-11 4-5 15, Tyler Harrison 4-7 0-0 11, Levi Dikoff 2-4 0-0 6, Eric Reis 0-0 0-0 0, John Person 0-0 0-0 0, Jakin Hill 0-1 2-2 2. Totals 19-41 17-21 62.
3-point goalsHavre 2-14 (Rice 2-2, Grant 0-2, Wirtzberger 0-1, Baltrusch 0-3, Brown 0-7), Glendive 7-16 (Harrison 3-3, Dikoff 2-4, Schriver 1-2, Aldinger 1-3, Eaton 0-4). Fouled outnone. Total foulsHavre 18, Glendive 15. ReboundsHavre 28 (Grant 9), Glendive 26 (Aldinger 12).
