Pony girls cap a perfect regular season; HHS boys edged in Fairfield

The Havre High girls basketball team came into Saturday’s game at Fairfield one win away from another undefeated regular season and while it wasn’t easy, the Blue Ponies scored their second win over the Eagles this season.

Much like the first meeting between the two teams, the Eagles hung around in the first half, thanks mostly to their defense. Yet, in the second half, the Ponies pulled away and notched a 47-32 road win to finish the regular season 18-0 for the second straight year. Havre’s win streak has now reached 42 games.

Both teams started slowly in Fairfield and after the opening stanza, HHS led the Eagles 9-6. Havre maintained the lead in the second quarter, but Fairfield was able to hang around and trailed the Ponies just 16-14 at halftime. The lead was still two points midway through the third when the Ponies ripped off 12 straight points to end the quarter, giving them a 14-point advantage heading into the fourth quarter.

Eventually, Havre extended its lead to 40-20 which capped off a 20-2 run. The Eagles managed 14 points in the fourth quarter, however, the Ponies still hung on for the 15-point win.

While the girls were able to get a win on the road, the Havre boys weren’t as fortunate, and despite putting together a solid effort on the road, Fairfield notched a 59-53 win. The loss dropped the Ponies to 7-11 overall. They will play Billings Central in the opening round of the Eastern A Divisional tournament.

“It was a battle the whole game,” HHS head coach Walynn Burgess said. ”We were right there, we just couldn’t get over the hump.”

On the road, Havre got off to a solid start in the first quarter, jumping out a 14-10 lead. Yet, foul trouble forced Kellen Detrick and Tommy Brown to the bench and before intermission, Fairfield went on a 12-4 run to take a 26-22 lead. In the third quarter, Havre kept the lead within just a few points as each squad scored 16 points in the third, but in the fourth, the Ponies couldn’t generate enough offense to overtake the Eagles, who put the game away at the free throw line.

Keeley Bake was the driving force behind the win for the Eagles as he scored 25 points to lead all scorers. However, the Ponies did hold Fairfield to just 41 percent from the field and the other Eagles to reach double figures were Ryder Meyer, who finished with 12 points and Dawson Allen who had 11.

Detrick stood out for the Ponies and finished with a double-double as he scored a team-high 16 points and grabbed 11 rebounds. Junior Mason Rismon also had a double-double for HHS as he scored 10 points thanks to a pair of 3-pointers, while also tearing down a game-high 13 rebounds.

“Mason had a really good weekend for us,” Burgess said. “He found other ways to affect the game without having to score. thirteen rebounds out of a guard position is huge and that’s exactly what we need from him going into divisionals.”

Both Havre High basketball teams will have a break before the Eastern A Divisional tournament which will start for both teams Feb. 20 and will run through Feb. 23 inside the Rimrock Auto Arena at the Metra in Billings. In the meantime, Burgess said, the Ponies will do their best to stay sharp.

“The boys are really starting to hit their stride at the right time of the year,” Burgess said. “Now we take these 12 days to get healthy again and get our legs back and tighten up on the little things to give us our best of making a run at divisionals.”