Ponies look to wrangle the Rustlers, home and away

At the beginning of the new year, the Havre High basketball teams faced off against a Class AA school in the Great Falls High Bison, with the boys playing on the road and the girls at home. This time around, the Blue Ponies will be facing off against the other AA program in the Electric City.

Havre has a tough matchup tonight in the CMR Rustlers. The boys will be taking on CMR in the Havre High Gymnasium at 7, while the Pony girls head to Great Falls to face off against the Lady Rustlers at 7 tonight.

Facing AA competition has. and will always be, a tough contest for Havre and HHS boys head coach Walynn Burgess knows all too well that CMR will be a difficult game in the Corral.

"CMR is always going to be a challenge," Burgess said. "Being a AA team, they will always be physically talented and really well-coached."

The Rustlers are looking to improve on their season, as they currently sit a 2-7 overall this year. CMR has had a good record against the Havre boys in recent years and it will look to upset the fired-up Ponies on the road.

But the Havre boys are on a hot streak right now. The Ponies have won four games in a row, three of them being big wins over Browning, Glendive and Miles City. All those wins were in the Havre High Gymnasium, too. Needless to say, HHS has been making a lot of noise in Class A, so beating a AA team can help boost the Ponies' reputation as a team to be wary of.

And Havre has the team to make some noise against the Rustlers. Seniors Mason Rismon and Jake Huston have been putting up great numbers, whether it be 3-pointers or field goals. Juniors Kellen Detrick and Josh Warp have been hot, too, as Havre's top two scorers. Detrick put up 16 points against Miles City last Saturday, while Warp has had a reputation when it comes to sinking a trey when the team needs it most. Then comes senior Tyrel Kjersem and junior Clint Owens, who have been great both at the basket and shooting free throws. Nolan Lotton has also been giving the Ponies an energy boost off the bench.

CMR has some players that can put points on the board though, too. Last week against Billings Senior, three Rustlers had double-digit games. Rogan Barnwell led CMR with 14 points, followed by Raef Newbrough and Keegan Barnes with 10 each. On top of that, the team combined for nine 3-pointers, too. In the end, CMR can put forward a good performance on the court that can match the Ponies.

With that in mind, Burgess is excited to see his team give it their all at home against the Rustlers.

"We look forward to the challenge of the Rustlers coming into the Corral tonight," Burgess said. "We will have to play good fundamental team basketball to compete in this one."

Meanwhile, the Havre girls will be on the road in Great Falls to play the Rustlers. The Ponies have been on a win streak of their own, as well, with only one loss on the year, to Billings Central. HHS has beaten the GFHBison at home earlier this season and now aim to take down CMR on the road.

Havre's talent has been great on both sides of the ball. Offensively, senior Kyndall Keller and sophomore Sadie Filius have been in the top two when it comes to scoring points for the Ponies. But others like senior Kadia Miller, junior Loy Waid, senior Katie Wirtzberger and senior Jessa Chvilicek have been big contributors to the offensive attack of HHS.

On the defensive side of the ball, Filius and Kylie Walker have been aggressive and intense. It is often people will watch Filius or Walker take the ball right out of the opponent's hands and take it back. Overall, the Ponies have great awareness on defense in general, making them a tough, well-rounded team.

But CMR boasts some talent, too. Last week against Billings Senior, Allie Olsen and Kiely Gunderson both led the Lady Rustlers with 16 points each. CMR came back against the Broncs after being down at halftime, too. In the end, Havre will have a tough road game ahead of them tonight.

The Havre boys (8-4) take on CMR at 7 tonight in the Havre High Gymnasium, while the Blue Pony girls (11-1) face off against the Lady Rustlers on the road at 7 tonight in Great Falls.

Both Havre teams are back home to host Malta on Saturday.