Ponies power past Mustangs in the Corral

Heading into its game with Malta, the Havre High boys basketball team had not won a game inside the HHS gymnasium this winter.

Thanks to a spectacular shooting night from senior Trey Murphy and some incredibly stingy defense, when the Blue Ponies walked off the floor Saturday, following their 43-33 win, that was no longer the case.

"It feels great for the team," Murphy said. "But I think all of us can say, it's for the fans, too. They come out and support us no matter what and it means a lot. We want to come out and win for them."

The victory, which gave Havre (3-11) the season sweep over Malta, came one night after losing at home to CMR 72-39. Murphy, who scored 25 points in the two games, had 15 against Malta, sparked by four 3-pointers.

However, despite Murphy's hot shooting, Havre and Malta got into defensive standoff as both teams started off cold offensively. Tanner Parsons got things going for the Ponies early on, knocking down a 3-pointer to give them a 5-3 lead and after one quarter it was 9-8 HHS. Malta quickly regained the lead in the second quarter, but Murphy snatched it back with his first 3-ball of the night, putting Havre in front 12-11 with 3:48 left in the first half.

Just 47 seconds later, Murphy hit again from deep, giving Havre a 17-15 advantage. Malta would tie it momentarily, but before the half, Ivar Aageson scored a layup to make it 17-15, in favor of Ponies at intermission.

"I felt good against (CMR) and I thought I should just try to keep it going," Murphy said after making 7-of-10 shots from beyond the arc in two games. "Sometimes you can tell. You can tell when it comes out."

After grabbing a two-point lead at half, Havre struggled to score in the third quarter and eventually, Malta built up a 24-20 advantage. Yet, Murphy answered with his third triple of the game, getting Havre to within one, 26-25 heading into the fourth quarter.

The Mustangs pushed their lead to three points with a bucket early in the final stanza. Havre held Malta scoreless for the next few minutes, but couldn't cut into the lead, until the 4:37 mark, when Murphy snapped the cold streak with his fourth trey of the game, tying things up at 28-28.

Soon after, Austin Delarosa scored inside to put Havre in front 30-28 and then Tommy Brown nailed a corner three to push it to 33-28. Minutes later, the Ponies capped their 11-0 run as Murphy dished to Delarosa for a layup that extended the Havre lead to 39-28.

"I thought that we played some great defense and we communicated," Murphy said. "And we took smarter shots down the stretch and that always helps."

Malta scored a couple buckets as time ticked away in the final minute, but after going scoreless for over six minutes, it was far too late. Havre went on to win by 10 after closing the game on an 18-5 run. Beyond the 15 points Havre got from Murphy, Brown had nine points and two steals, while Aageson scored eight points and dished out four assists. Parsons also ended with six points.

"It feels good," Leeds said of the win. "The boys came out and played really hard. I thought our defense went back to the way it was at the beginning of the year. We limited turnovers on offense, we shot a better percentage and that's a gateway to success."

Leeds said the two 3-pointers by Murphy and Brown are what sparked his team's defense in the fourth quarter that limited Malta to one hoop in 7:22 of game time.

"I thought the three from Trey and the one in the corner from Tommy really was the turning point," Leeds said. "You know when you start seeing the ball go in the basket, it makes it easier to play hard defensively on the other end."

Havre may have played one of its better games of the season Saturday night, but HHS was overpowered by CMR Friday. The Rustlers jumped out to a 22-9 lead after the first quarter and by halftime, the score was 37-17. CMR also outscored the Ponies 35-22 in the second half to win the game going away by 33 points.

Garrison Rothwell and Sam Vining both did a number on the Ponies, as they combined for 41 points. Rothwell scored 21 in the win, thanks to three 3-pointers. Vining finished with 20. Murphy led the Ponies with 10 points; Aageson added nine.

The Ponies will be back at home Friday night, before hitting the road to close out Central A conference play at Lewistown Saturday.

CMR 72, Havre 39

CMR 22 15 17 18 -- 72

Havre 9 8 11 11 -- 39

CMR - Caleb Currington 4, Ky'Myie Crawley 2, Brendan Lindseth 5, Jake Olsen 6, Kyle Byrne 3, Garrison Rothwell 21, Kaden Walsh 2, Tucker Greenwell 2, Sam Vining 20, Bryce Depping 5, Garrit Bloemendaal 2. Totals 29 6-11 72.

Havre - Laz Windy Boy 3, Tanner Parsons 5, Tommy Brown 4, Ivar Aageson 9, Austin De La Rosa 3, Tysen Sangrey 5, Trey Murphy 10. Totals 12 9-18 39.

3-pointers - Lindseth, Olsen, Byrne, Rothwell 3, Vining 2; Parsons, Irvin, Sangrey, Murphy 3. Total fouls - CMR 19, Havre 14.

Havre 43, Malta 33

Malta 8 7 11 7 - 33

Havre 9 8 8 18 - 43

Malta: K. Kuehn 8, K. Henry 4, B. Costin 3, T. Jensen 3, T. Smith 2, K. Koss 2, T. Matthews 11.

Havre: Tanner Parsons 6, Tommy Brown 9, Ivar Aageson 8, Austin DeLaRosa 4, Trey Murphy 15.