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Ponies take hot streak on the road

HHS boys face Central A rivals Belgrade, Livingston

The 2014-15 season could not have started much better for the Havre High boys basketball team. The Blue Ponies earned two wins at home, including one over Class AA rival CMR. Now, the Ponies are looking to make a statement in the Central A with a pair of conference games on the docket this weekend.

The Ponies begin the two-game set tonight when Havre will go head-to-head with the Belgrade Panthers, which was 4-0 against HHS a season ago, including wins in the Central A Divisional tournament and the Class A state tournament. Tip-off is set for 7:30 in Belgrade. Saturday, the Ponies will travel to Livingston to take on the Rangers in another critical early season matchup in the Central A that will get underway at 3:30 p.m.

"These are big games and I think it would be a big confidence boost to beat Belgrade, but it's just another game and another opportunity to get better," HHS head coach Curt Leeds said. "We just look at every game as a chance to learn and improve so we can play our best basketball at the end of the season."

The Panthers have a win over Salmon, Idaho, and a close loss to Laurel so far this season. And they will be fired up to play the Ponies, their biggest Central A rival.

Belgrade, which posted a 7-1 record in the Central A last season, comes in as one of the favorites to win the league again this year. Yet, the Ponies figure to provide the biggest challenge to the Panthers' supremacy, which is part of what makes this early season showdown so intriguing.

If the Ponies are going to knock off the Panthers, they will need another outstanding effort from two-time All-State selection Dane Warp. The junior has gotten his season off to an electrifying start and is averaging 30 points a game. He scored 26 points in a win over Malta and 34 against CMR, including a free throw with time expired to give Havre the 52-51 win over its AA rival. Warp has been deadly as a shooter, knocking down over 51 percent of his shots. He is also shooting at a 47 percent clip from the perimeter after draining nine of 19 3-point attempts on opening weekend.

But in order to win, the Ponies are going to need more than just a big game from Warp. Others will need to emerge, particularly on the offensive end, and one of the top candidates to do that is senior Michael Bakke, who is averaging 7.5 points and eight rebounds per game. The athletic forward is shooting 60 percent from the field.

Havre has a number of other talented players such as Nate Rismon, who was named to the 2014 Central A All-Conference team as an honorable mention, as well as fellow starters Jase Kato and Jerod Boles. Yet, at this point, no one outside of Warp, who has scored 58 percent of Havre's points has distinguished themselves. And the four other starters Bakke, Kato, Boles and Rismon combine to average just 14 points per game, which is something that will need to change in a hurry if Havre is going to contend in the Central A.

Havre will need a better balance on offense to do damage late in the season, but the big key to beating Belgrade is going to be rebounding.

"Belgrade is maybe not as talented scoring wise as they were last season," Leeds said. "But they are a very good rebounding team and that will be a big key for us this week. We really need to make sure that we limit their second shots."

While Warp paces the Ponies, Belgrade will answer with a slew of talented players headlined by Brayden Konkol, who earned second team All-Conference honors a year ago. Kolby Ruff will be another key player for Belgrade after being named All-Conference honorable mention last season, along with Tanner Campbell.

After dealing with Belgrade tonight, the Ponies will take on a Livingston team Saturday that earned a win and a loss in its first two games of the season. The Rangers opened a season with a 73-60 loss to Hardin, before rebounding to defeat Billings Central 63-61.

Through two games, Livingston has relied on two players to do the bulk of its scoring with Landan Ricketts leading the way with an average of 18 points per game. Rydell Floyd, who is averaging 13 points per game is the other top threat for a Rangers team that relies heavily on the 3-point shot after attempting 55 in two games and shooting 35 percent beyond the arc.

"I think that we can beat both of these teams," Leeds said. "But it's going to come down to rebounding and us taking care of the basketball. But, I think if we can (stay) even with both of these teams on the boards, I think we will have a good chance to win."

The Ponies will open their two-game road trip against Belgrade tonight at 7:30. Then, Havre will play Livingston Saturday at 3:30. After the holiday break, the Ponies will be back in action Jan. 2 when they will travel to Great Falls to take on Great Falls High. Havre will also play at Malta Jan. 3.

 

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