HHS boys sweep Lewistown, Shelby

Havre High sophomore Kade Rismon (middle) shoots over Shelby defenders during the first half of Saturday's high school boys basketball game at the HHS gymnasium. The Ponies took care of the Coyotes one day after besting Central A rival Lewistown on the road.

Coming out of the break, the Havre High boys basketball team knew the offense still needed some grooming. But while the team continues to improve, it was the defense that set the tone in two solid wins.

Friday the Central

HHS's Thurman Holdsclaw (right) lays up a shot over a Shelby defender Saturday afternoon in Havre.

A Blue Ponies were in Lewistown, where they defeated the Golden Eagles 49-40 in conference play. And Saturday, the Ponies returned home to defeat the Class B Shelby Coyotes 46-37 in non-league play. With the two wins, the Ponies improved to 3-5 overall and 2-1 in the conference.

"Our team needed these wins this weekend." Havre High head coach Andy Smith said. "It gives us some momentum moving forward and that is what we needed. I was just proud of the kids' overall effort, they all went out and worked hard for us this weekend."

Taking on the Eagles on the road, the Pony defense was key, holding Lewistown to just 40 points.

HHS was able to put up 49, its highest total of the year, but they still need consistent production from all over the lineup. Ryan Brandt scored 15 points to lead the Ponies and Brandon Smith added 12. Kade Rismon also added 11 points and Thurman Holdsclaw added six. It was a decent offensive night for the Ponies, especially after grabbing a 15-13 lead in the first quarter and grabbing 18 more in the final frame to ensure the win.

"We had some guys step up and get some baskets," Coach Smith said. "And that is always good."

Hosting the Coyotes, it was a similar storyline, with the offense getting solid production, but the team heavily leaning on the defense.

Shelby took an early lead at 5-4, but the Ponies would get on top 6-5 and never look back. HHS led 13-11 after the first quarter and steadily scored points with 13 in the second, 13 in the third and seven in the fourth. This time around Smith led the way with 19 points and Brandt pitched in with 14. Holdsclaw also added six points and Rydell Ruff added five.

On the defensive end, the Ponies allowed 11 points in the first quarter, but allowed just nine in the second and just 17 total in the second half. The Ponies didn't allow any major runs and were only hurt by Robby Miller who scored 21-points for the Coyotes. HHS also forced nine turnovers and grabbed over a dozen defensive boards.

"Our defense played really well this weekend," Smith said. "That kept us in both games, and obviously when your offense struggles, you have to have good defense. We made some big stops when we needed to and just played well both nights. Both teams we faced made runs at us, but we made the big stops when we needed them."

The Ponies went away from their zone defense that has showed promise and played man-to-man both nights. That gave the Ponies an opportunity make some stops on defense and also opened up some things on offense, allowing more guys to get involved.

"Our zone has looked good this year," Brandt said. "But sometimes when we need to, we have to be able to play man. It is important to get after it like we did this weekend on man defense.

"And we're not really a young team," Brandt added. "But we are new to playing with each other. Everybody is figuring things out and learning how to play with each other and we are starting to look good."

The Ponies have two more games this weekend. Friday they host Browning and Saturday they take on Conrad on the road.

Havre 49, Lewistown 40

Havre 15 8 8 18 — 49

Lewistown 13 4 11 12 — 40

Havre — Ryan Brandt 15, Rydell Ruff 4, Justin Jensen 1, Brandon Smith 12, Thurman Holdslaw 6, Kade Rismon 11. Totals: 17 12-18.

Lewistown — Tre Bradley 8, Carson Feller 4, Jordan Snapp 4, Kyle Parry 5, Dylan Stenseth 4, Andy Butcher 15. Totals: 13 12-18.

Total fouls: Havre 16, Lewistown 17. Fouled out: Ruff. Technical fouls: None. Three point goals: Brandt 1, Smith 2, Bradley 1, Feller 1.

Havre 46, Shelby 37

Shelby 11 9 9 8 — 37

Havre 13 13 13 7 — 46

Shelby — Josh Matteson 2, Thane McCracken 3, Robby Miller 21, Ryan clark 3, Tanner Raph 4, Doug Fyall 4. Totals: 15 4-9.

Havre — Ryan Brandt 14, Rydell Ruff 5, Brandon Smith 19, Thurman Holdsclaw 6, Kade Rismon 2. Totals: 18 5-9.

Total fouls — Shelby 12, Havre 13. Fouled out — none. 3-pointers — McCracken, Miller 4, Brandt 2, Smith 3.