Big hoops weekend ahead

The long-awaited high school basketball season got off to a quiet start this past weekend, with just a handful of games on the slate.

But starting Thursday, area teams will start to make some noise on the Hi-Line.

There is a full docket of boys and girls high school basketball action this coming weekend with tournaments in Havre and Big Sandy, as well as the Havre High basketball teams opening their season.

In Havre, the Native American Classic will take center stage Friday and Saturday at the MSU-Northern Fieldhouse.

Over the course the two days, boys and girls teams from Harlem, Rocky Boy and Box Elder will battle it out with the likes of Browning, Heart Butte and others. Each team at the NAC gets two games.

Meanwhile, the Big Sandy Tournament will run Thursday-Saturday and will feature several hoop powers. The Pioneer boys and girls teams will play two games, while Chinook and North Star will be the other District 9C teams in attendance. Both the Beeters and Knights get two games in Big Sandy as well. The Big Sandy tournament also has a plethora of Northern C stalwarts, including Winifred-Roy and Augusta.

The Chester/J-I boys and girls teams also open the season at the Fort Benton Tournament this weekend. Both C/J-I teams will play games against 8C powers Belt and Fort Benton.

And Friday is the big day for the Havre Blue Ponies. The Pony boys and girls open the season at Class B powerhouse Malta on Saturday night.

The Havre Daily News will have complete coverage of all of the high school basketball in the area all season long, including online at havredailynews.com.