By Tiffany L. Rehbein
Havre will become a basketball town this weekend, as nearly 50 teams converge on the city to take part in the qualifying rounds of the Big Sky State Games.
Regional Director Dennis Murphy is organizing the event.
"I'm very pleased with the volunteer efforts, especially from the officials," Murphy said.
Everyone involved in the event from officials, to scorekeepers, to ticket-takers is a volunteer.
The competition for seventh- and eighth-grade girls will be held at Havre High School starting at noon on Saturday and will continue Sunday at 10 a.m. The Havre Mustangs will play Rocky Boy Jr. High at noon on Saturday.
Girls grades 9-10 will play at Havre High starting at 10 a.m. on Saturday and 9 a.m. on Sunday. Havre-Keller will face Dream Team from Wolf Point at 11 a.m. on Saturday. Havre-Dierman will face the Harlem Lady Wildcats at 11 a.m. on Saturday.
Girls grades 11-12 will play at Havre Central Jr. High beginning at 9 a.m. on Saturday and 10 a.m. on Sunday. The Ponies will play the Sunburst Refiners at 10 a.m. on Saturday in the second game of the tournament. Chester will open the tournament with a game against Box Elder. Chinook will play Whitewater at noon.
Boys grades 7-8 will play at Havre High beginning at 1:30 p.m. on Saturday and 11 a.m. on Sunday. Havre Ford will face Hays/Lodgepole Braves at 1:30 p.m. on Saturday.
The competition for boys grades 9-10 will be held at Havre Middle School starting at 9 a.m. on Saturday and again at 10 a.m. on Sunday. Havre-Heberly will play Junction Corndogs at 10 a.m. on Saturday. The Havre All-Stars will face Harlem at 11 a.m. on Saturday.
Boys grades 11-12 will play first-round games at Havre High and all other rounds at MSU-Northern starting at 8 a.m. on Saturday and will continue 8 a.m. on Sunday. Box Elder will play Whitewater at 8 a.m. on Saturday. Chinook will face Dutton at 9 a.m. Rocky Boy-Sangray will play Northern Electronics at 9 a.m. on Saturday and Rocky Boy-Small will face Ezzie's Hiway Bar at 10 a.m.
Two qualifiers from each division, expect boys grades 9-10 and boys grades 11-12, will advance to the finals in Billings, July 14-16. Boys grades 9-10 qualify three teams and boys grades 11-12 qualify four teams.
The public is encouraged to attend. Daily admission is $3 for adults and $1 for students ages 7-18. Children six and under are free. The fees from the gates will be used by the Havre athletes to attend different camps and tournaments around Montana during the summer.
