HHS boys swept at home

The non-conference portion of the schedule has proven to be difficult for the Havre High boys basketball team this season. But the tough matchups have also given the Blue Ponies plenty of areas to work on.

After two games over the weekend, there is no doubt that head coach Curt Leads wants to continue to groom the defense.

The Central A Ponies were at the Havre High Gymnasium for two games over the weekend. Friday the Class AA Great Falls High Bison defeated the Ponies 62-47. And Saturday, the Class B Malta Mustangs defeated the Ponies 66-58. Both games exposed the holes in the Ponies’ zone defense, as the Bison knocked down shot after shot, and the Mustangs were able to come up with too many big shots when the Ponies needed big stops by the defense.

A bright spot on the weekend was the HHS offense during Saturday’s matchup. The Ponies have been looking for more production all season, and finally got it. Dane Warp led with 20 points, and Kade Rismon finished with 14 and Nate Rismon finished with 12 on four 3-pointers. Brian Smith hit two treys for six points, while Jase Kato also finished with six points. It was a positive outing from the offense, as just three individuals scored in the loss to Great Falls on Friday. Warp had 28, Kade Rismon had 13, and Kato had six.

“On Saturday we shot the ball more which was good,” HHS head coach Curt Leeds said. “But, defensively, both nights we were just out of position most of the time. We need to fine-tune our zone defense. But these nonconference games are good for that, they show us what we need to work on, and everybody we have played has shot the ball well. We really need to limit dribble penetration and close out the shooters a little bit better.

“It was good to see those two (Nate Rismon and Smith) shooting the ball,” Leeds added. “And then see some success with the ball going in. That is good for us moving forward, but we still need to fix those things defensively.”

Havre’s defense gave up double digit scoring in all four quarters against the Bison Friday. The Ponies needed too many big stops, but gave up too many runs of points. Trailing by eight points at the half, the Ponies allowed just two Bison points through the first four minutes of the third quarter to keep the deficit at eight. But the Bison overcame the hectic play and outscored the Ponies 8-6 to take a 10-point lead into the fourth. The Bison ran away with the game in the fourth, where the Ponies even threw some man-to-man looks at the GFH offense.

HHS stayed more competitive against the Mustangs with much better offense, but the key defensive stops still didn’t happen. Three points in the second quarter also put the Ponies in a 34-23 hole at the break after leading 20-16 through the first quarter.

A Warp layup midway through the third quarter cut the deficit to 38-33. The bucket in the pain capped off a 10- 4 run by the Ponies, but the Mustangs kept fighting. Malta closed the frame with a 15-8 run as the defense struggled to limit the offensive production.

But the Ponies weren’t out of contention just yet. In the final minute of play the Ponies had opportunities, but just couldn’t convert. Trailing 60-58 the Ponies had three turnovers and got off just one shot attempt, a missed three. Malta went 6-of-10 in the final minute from the free throw line to ensure the win.

“It just seemed like they were more aggressive,” Leeds said. “We were the aggressor in our first meeting, we pressed them with our offense and defense, but the second time around they really pressured us and attacked the glass. It wasn’t the best showing from us, and I know there is a lot more to come from these boys. We just have to go back to the fundamentals of the game and tweak some aspects of our play.”

With the two losses the Ponies dropped to 2-4 overall. On Friday Havre will host Class B Conrad, but will face conference rival Lewistown on Saturday on the road.

Great Falls High 62, Havre High 47

GFH 19 13 10 20 – 62

Havre 8 16 8 15 – 47

GFH – Bryce Clark 10, Lukas Vining 18, Kody Torgerson 3, Matt Wyman 6, Jake Banach 1, Brendan Howard 18, Jake Wetzel 6. Totals: 24 8-12.

Havre – Dane Warp 28, Kade Rismon 13, Jase Kato 6. Totals: 17 8-16.

3-pointers: Clark 2, Vining, Torgerson, Wetzel 2, Warp 3. Total fouls: GFH 18, Havre 14. Fouled out: none.

Malta 66, Havre 58

Malta 16 18 19 13 - 66

Havre 20 3 18 17 - 58

Malta – Nate Costin 2, Jase Galt 5, Tyson Carney 6, Jeremy Costin 12, Allen Williamson 17, Zach Handley 16, Quintan Boos 6, Troy Manoukian 2. Totals: 24 11-22

Havre – Nate Rismon 12, Dane Warp 20, Brian Smith 6, Jase Kato 6, Kade Rismon 14. Totals: 19 11-16.

Total fouls – Malta 17, Havre 16. Fouled out – Kato. 3-pointers – J. Costin 3, Williamson, Handley 3, N. Rismon 4, Warp 3, Smith 2.