Swish: Ponies topple CMR and Malta

Havre High junior Dane Warp scored 60 points in two games this past weekend against Malta and CMR inside the HHS gymnasium. But his most important point was his last one.

After knocking off Malta 54-39 Friday to open the season, the Havre boys basketball team came back Saturday in pursuit of a 2-0 start with a win over Class AA rival CMR. And after the Ponies and Rustlers battled to a 51-51 tie with just five seconds remaining in regulation, Warp did what he does best - score.

After getting the inbound pass in the back court, the two-time All-State selection knifed through the CMR defense, getting to the basket as time expired. His shot rolled off the rim but then came a foul call and with it, two free throws.

Standing alone at the free-throw-line with nothing on the clock, Warp needed to make just one of two to win the game for Havre. The first rimmed out. The second was all net.

"I was thinking I need to finish," Warp said. "It felt good (making the free throw), I know it's been a long time since Havre has beaten CMR."

The made free throw capped an incredible performance from Warp, who scored a game-high 34 points as the Ponies dispatched of the Rustlers 52-51. His 34-point effort came on the heels of a 26-point outing against Malta.

"This is how we wanted to start the season," Warp said. "It was solid. We know every weekend is important. We just want to take it one game at a time.

"Dane was impressive," HHS head coach Curt Leeds said. "I thought he did a good job of letting things come to him within the offense and he is just so hard to stop. He can score in so many ways."

Things couldn't have started much better for Warp and the Ponies Saturday, as Warp, who averaged more than 23 points a game a season ago, scored 23 in the first half against the Rustlers thanks to a stellar shooting effort that included three 3-pointers.

Thanks to Warp's hot start Havre built a 21-12 lead in the second quarter and despite a run by the Rustlers late in the second quarter, the Ponies managed to take a 29-23 into halftime.

Nate Rismon opened the third quarter with a trey that put HHS ahead 32-23 and it looked like the Ponies might pull away. But the Rustlers had an answer and thanks to eight points in a 1:56 span from Zach Harper, CMR pulled within two at 35-33 with 2:40 to go in the third.

That's when Warp struck again, burying a clutch three to push the Havre lead back to five at 38-33. Later in the third, Jase Kato and Warp scored on back-to-back possessions to put the Ponies ahead 44-36 going into the final stanza.

CMR opened the fourth quarter on 6-0 run and suddenly the score was 44-42 in favor of HHS. But, the Ponies fought back with two free throws by Jerod Boles and a jumper from Rismon that gave Havre a 48-42 lead.

The Rustlers pulled within three at 48-45, when Warp scored a critical basket with 3:33 remaining to push the Havre lead to at 50-45. Missed free throws by HHS kept CMR alive and four points from Yancy Gange whittled the Pony lead down to 51-49 with 1:28 remaining.

Havre missed three more free throws in the next 55 seconds, giving CMR the basketball down two with 33 seconds left. The Rustlers tried to go for the win, but a 3-point attempt to take the lead was no good. However, Gange grabbed the miss and put it back in to tie the score at 51-51, setting the stage for Warp's game-winning free throw.

"I thought the boys played hard and they played together," Leeds said. "(Beating CMR) is a huge confidence builder for us, knowing that we can compete with AA schools."

Warp led all scorers in the game with 34 points. No other Havre player managed to reach double figures, but Rismon added five points, all of them coming in the second half. Gange led the way for CMR with 12 points. Karl Tucker contributed with 12 and Harper also added nine in the loss.

Before their dramatic win over the Rustlers, the Ponies took on Malta in their 2014-15 season opener. And in an impressive effort, HHS cruised to a 54-39 win in a game that wasn't as close as the final score indicates.

Early on, the Mustangs hung right with the Ponies and even grabbed an 8-6 lead after a trey by Jeremy Costin with 2:44 left in the opening quarter. Yet, Warp answered with a three of his own on the next possession, giving Havre the lead back at 11-9.

The Ponies never trailed again.

Warp buried another triple seven seconds into the second quarter, then Wyatt Lindbloom and Jacob LaBrie each hit a three later in the quarter to give Havre a 20-9 advantage. After a Michael Bakke 3-point play with 47 seconds in the quarter, Havre grabbed a 27-15 halftime lead.

Malta threatened to get back into the game briefly in the third after a jumper by Costin made the score 29-19, but HHS closed the third quarter on a 11-5 run to take a 40-24 led in the fourth. Then, Warp nailed two treys in the first 49 seconds of the final quarter, which put HHS ahead 46-24, effectively put the game on ice.

Warp's 26 over Malta was a game-high, while Bakke also had a solid performance with 12 points. Allen Williamson was the high scorer for Malta with 13 points. Costin finished the game with 12 for the Mustangs.

The Ponies will look to continue their strong start when they travel to Belgrade Friday and Livingston Saturday for a pair of Central A conference showdowns.

Havre 54, Malta 39

Malta 9 6 9 15 – 39

Havre 11 16 13 14 – 54

Malta - Nate Costin 3 2-2 8, Hunter Love 0 0-0 0, Jase Galt 2 0-0 4, Tyson Carney 1 0-0 2, Jeremy Costin 3 2-2 10, Allen Williamson 6 1-2 13, Jayce Bishop 0 1-2 1, Cru Darrah 0 0-0 0, Blake Suostrom 0 0-0 0, Ostin Welch 0 1-2 1, Devon Raybon 0 0-0 0. Total 15 7-10 39.

Havre - Jerod Boles 0 0-0 0, Nate Rismon 2 0-0 4, Nate Korb 1 0-0 2, Dane Warp 9 3-5 26, Jacob LaBrie 1 0-0 3, Michael Bakke 5 2-5 12, Wyatt Lindbloom 3 0-2 7, Jase Kato 0 0-0 0, Zach Hunt 0 0-0 0. Total 21 5-12 54.

Havre 52, CMR 51

CMR 8 15 13 15 – 51

Havre 11 18 15 8 – 52

CMR – C. Moore 2 0-0 5, J. Simmons 0 3-5 3, D. Gillespie 1 0-1 2, X. Pace 1 2-2 4, Y. Grayne 5 2-2 12, Karl Tucker II 5 1-2 12, Z. Harper 3 2-4 9, Z. Johnson 2 0-2 4. Totals: 19 10-18.

Havre – Jerod Boles 0 2-2 2, Nate Rismon 2 0-0 5, Dane Warp 12 6-8 34, Jacob LaBrie 1 0-0 3, Michael Bakke 1 1-4 3, Wyatt Lindbloom 1 0-0 3, Jase Kato 1 0-1 2. Totals: 17 9-16.

Total fouls – CMR 19, Havre 17. 3-point goals – Moore, Tucker, Harper, Rismon, Warp 4, Lindbloom.