By Tiffany L. Rehbein
Now this is what the fans are used to seeing.
The Havre Blue Pony boys' basketball team jumped to third place in the Central A, according to standings released on Jan. 31.
The Ponies struggled early in the season, winning just one game during more than one month of action between December and January.
However, they have made some adjustments and have won four straight games, including knocking off Central A rival Lewistown (45-36) and Class AA Great Falls High (68-61).
Havre (8-6) has 28 seeding points.
The Dillon Beavers (10-4) are No. 1 in the Central A with 35 seeding points. The Beavers average the most points offensively, with 69.6 per game.
They are second in the league defensively, holding their opponents to 54.3 points per game.
The Beavers defeated the Belgrade Panthers 69-47 in conference play on Friday.
The Butte Central Maroons (9-4) are second in the division with 32 seeding points.
The Maroons defeated the Class AA Butte High Bulldogs 54-43 Tuesday to improve their record.
In head-to-head action, the Beavers defeated the Maroons 78-48 at the beginning of January. The two will meet again on Feb. 5 at Butte.
The Lewistown Eagles (7-7) have 26 seeding points. The Eagles of head coach Ron Miller have struggled lately, winning just one game during the past four starts.
Lewistown fell to Class AA Billings Skyview 56-52 on Friday.
The Panthers (7-7) have 25 seeding points. Defensively, they lead the league, holding their opponents to 54.0 points per game.
The last two losses for the Panthers have come to Dillon (69-47) and Butte Central on Jan. 22 (54-37).
The Browning Indians, Anaconda Copperheads, and Livingston Rangers are floundering in the basement of the division.
The Indians, who will play at Havre on Thursday, are 3-9 with 16 seeding points.
With a 76-68 win over the Rangers last night, the Copperheads improved to 4-10.
With the loss, the Rangers dipped to 1-14 on the year.
Lewistown, Belgrade, Browning, Anaconda, and Livingston, on average, allow more points defensively than they score offensively.
Central A Standings
Jan. 31, 2000
Team
W L
S. Pts Ave. Off
Def
Dillon
10-4
35
2.500
69.6
54.3
Butte Central
9-4
32
2.462
58.7
54.6
Havre
8-6
28
2.000
61.6
58.9
Lewistown
7-7
26
1.857
60.9
62.6
Belgrade
7-7
25
1.786
51.9
54.0
Browning
3-9
16
1.333
68.3
72.7
Anaconda
3-10
13
1.000
58.1
63.2
Livingston
1-13
10
0.714
51.6
63.1
Feb. 1 -- Butte Central def. Butte High 54-43; Anaconda def. Livingston 76-68.
Feb. 3 -- Browning at Havre; Three Forks at Dillon
Feb. 4 -- Butte Central at Boulder; Belgrade at Lewistown; Laurel at Livingston
Feb. 5 -- Dillon at Butte Central; Deer Lodge at Anaconda; Fairfield at Browning; Havre at Malta; Lewistown at Laurel
