Pony boys excited to play two old rivals

One thing about playing sports in Havre, is that athletes don't get a chance to compete against local rivals very often, but when they do, it can lead to an exciting atmosphere.

Over the years, Havre and Rocky Boy, which are only separated by around 20 miles, have developed a fun rivalry on the basketball court and tonight, the Havre High boys basketball team and the Stars will renew it.

The Stars come in as one of the top teams in the Northern B, sporting a 6-1 record overall and a 5-0 record in the District 1B. The Ponies, on the other hand, are 2-6 and 0-3 in conference play. The two teams will meet tonight, inside the HHS gymnasium at 5:30.

"I think the kids are excited," HHS head coach Curt Leeds said. "We have had a couple good days of practice, and I think the kids are excited to get back out there and play."

Yet, tonight's game against Rocky Boy isn't the only familiar opponent that will be in town this weekend to play the Havre boys. Browning, a former member of the Central A conference, now of the Northwest A, will play in Havre Friday night. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m.

"For us to get a win would be huge," Leeds said. "Just because we are going into conference play next week on the road, against Belgrade and Livingston. But really, we are looking at this weekend, as two non-conference games, and we are just going to try to get back to the basics. We are going to try some different things, a motion offense and let the kids go out there and play and see if they can have some success moving around together and working with each."

Before the Ponies turn their attention to their old rivals from Browning, they will need to focus on Rocky Boy, a team that was just a win shy of making the Class B state tournament a season ago.

The Stars are led by head coach Adam Demontiney and a slew of skilled players, led by 6-7 big man Kendall Windy Boy, who has basically been a double-double machine since he stepped on the floor as a freshman a couple years ago.

"When you have a big guy like that, it just really opens up things for your guards," Leeds said. "It lets them play with a lot more confidence. Defensively, they know if they mess up, he is going to be there to block or affect the shot. Trying to keep him off the offensive boards is going to be tough. And it's really hard to get offensive rebounds against him, because he just seems to swallow everything up."

While dealing with Windy Boy will be a big challenge, the Stars are loaded with other talented players such as senior Ben Iron Eyes, Kordell Small and Frankie Bacon.

"Rocky Boy scores a lot, but they don't really play up tempo like Browning does," Leeds said. "They don't really press you and they play some zone. But they can really score."

Against Browning Friday, Leeds said pace of the game was going to be important. The Indians will want to pressure the Ponies and run the floor. The Indians, who are 5-3 overall, are the top team in the Northwest, with a 4-0 conference record. Brandon Aimsback is the top scorer at 14.6 ppg. Tyree Whitcomb is also scoring 12.6 a game. As a team, Browning averages 66.8 ppg, an average this is almost 30 points higher than Havre.

"I finally got to watch them on film, and they are a good team," Leeds said. "Tbey have a couple of good big guys and some good guards. That is the game where the tempo is going to be really important."

For the Ponies, playing efficient basketball is going to be key in both games. Havre needs to limit turnovers and fouls. That's one way to make up for scoring 38.5 ppg. The Ponies average almost 19 turnovers a game, which is a formula that could favor Browning.

Ivar Aageson comes in as the leading scorer for Havre with seven points per game. Jacob Irvin is averaging 6.6 ppg and Tanner Parsons is scoring 6.8.

Havre will open its home doubleheader tonight against Rocky Boy at 5:30. Havre will also play Browning Saturday at 7:30 p.m.