Mustangs take over Pony Corral

Sometimes, a team just has your number. And this season, Malta had the number of the Havre High boys basketball team.

The Mustangs defeated the Blue Ponies in the season opener in Malta back in December and Saturday night in the HHS gymnasium, they completed the season sweep with a 46-42 win. The loss snapped a four-game winning streak for HHS and dropped the Ponies to 4-2 on the season.

"They just had a lot more energy than us," HHS head coach Curt Leeds said. "You have two teams that play the same way offensively and defensively, but they played with more energy, that's really what it came down to."

If there is one thing that Malta proved it can do against Havre over the course of two games, it's defend. In the first meeting, the Mustangs held Havre to 52 points, which was it lowest output of the season, at least it was until Saturday, when Malta held the Ponies to 42 points. It was the first time this season Havre scored less than 50.

"You have to give them a lot of credit," Leeds said. "They played us great defensively. We had a really hard time getting to the basket. We really didn't make any threes, but that's because they really didn't let us have any open looks."

Early on it was easy to see that the Mustangs were determined to notch a road win over the Ponies and they started strong as Allen Williamson, who scored 21 points in the first meeting, scored six of the Mustangs first nine points to spark a 15-10 first quarter in favor of Malta.

The Mustangs closed the opening stanza with six straight points and started the second with four more to grab a 20-10 lead. Havre trimmed the lead to seven on a Michael Loftus jumper, but back-to-back 3-pointers by Nate Costin, who scored 19 first-half points, pushed the Malta lead to 28-13, capping a 19-3 run midway through the quarter.

Havre closed the opening half on an 8-3 run, which trimmed the Mustang lead down to 31-21 at intermission, and after Dane Warp scored four straight points to open the third quarter, suddenly it was a two possession game at 31-25 with 6:44 left in the third.

After that, Malta put the clamps down defensively. Havre managed just one more hoop for the rest of the stanza as Warp scored once more, while Malta racked up eight points to extend its lead to 39-27 entering the fourth quarter.

The Mustangs led by as many as 14 points early in the fourth, but just when things looked bleak, Havre made a run.

Jacob LaBrie started things off with a trey, then two free throws from Nate Rismon ended a 7-0 run that made it 41-34. Williamson pushed the lead back to 10 with a three-point play, but a full-court press by the Ponies and some turnovers by Malta, led to six consecutive Havre points, which left Malta up by just four, 44-40 with 2:22 left in the game.

Another Havre steal and a layup by Warp got Havre within two. The defensive pressure applied by the Ponies earned them multiple chances to take the lead, including a Rismon 3-point attempt that went in-and-out, but they couldn't convert.

And with just over a minute left, Costin drilled a 2-point dagger, which put Malta up four. Havre didn't score again in the final minute and that preserved a four-point victory for the Mustangs.

"They did a great job defensively and I thought they played harder than us," Leeds said. "It's just one of those things, a refresher for us that we need to play better. Maybe (the press) is something that we need to do at the beginning of games to get us a little energy, instead of at the end of them."

Warp led all scorers in the game and finished with 23 points. Rismon added nine for the Ponies, while Loftus had six. Costin poured in 21 for Malta and hit four 3-pointers in the effort. Williamson contributed with 11.

The Ponies will be back home on Friday against Conrad. That game will tip-off at 7 p.m. Then, Havre will visit Lewistown on Saturday.

Malta 46, Havre 42

Malta 15 16 8 7 — 46

Havre 10 11 6 15 — 42

Malta – N. Costin 21, J. Bishop 2, T. Carney 2, A. Williamson 11, O. Welch 2, D. Raybon 8. Totals: 17 8-18.

Havre – Jerod Boles 2, Nate Risman 9, Dane Warp 23, Jacob LaBrie 3, Michael Loftus 6. Totals: 17 7-12.

3-Point goals – Costin 4, LaBrie 1. Total fouls – Malta 15, Havre 14. Fouled out – None.