Havre High boys basketball beats Hardin

It has been a season of growth for the Havre High boys basketball team with many ups and downs. This past weekend on the road demonstrated that as the Blue Ponies lost to Miles City, 67-49, to start the weekend before rebounding with a 71-69 win over Hardin.

“Anytime we go on the road, we know that we’re in for battles,” HHS head coach Walynn Burgess said. “Just a good trip for us. Getting splits, we’ll take it any day of the week but we just know that we’re still learning and we’re still working.”

The Ponies started the weekend Friday at Miles City. The opening moments of the game saw the teams trade baskets. On the Ponies’ opening possession, Caden Jenkins made a 3-pointer to give Havre an early lead. Logan Muri responded with a layup to tie the game. Dalton Polesky then made back-to-back baskets to give Miles City a 6-3 lead. Jenkins made another three to tie the game with five-and-a-half minutes left in the opening frame.

But the Cowboys went on a 10-0 run to take a 16-6 lead late in the quarter. Both Zach Welch and Ed Brooks scored a basket and a pair of free throws to lead the Cowboys during the run. Shane Patascil made a free throw to break up the run, but the Cowboys just went on a 7-0 run to stretch the lead further to 23-7. Patascil made another free throw in the closing moments of the quarter but Miles City had the 23-8 lead at the break.

The second quarter went by slow as both teams went to the free-throw line multiple times. Of the 12 points the Ponies scored in the quarter, eight of them came at the charity stripe. Despite their opportunities at the line, the Ponies still trailed, 36-20, heading into halftime.

Looking to put the Ponies away, the Cowboys started the third quarter on a 10-0 run to extend the lead to 46-20 halfway through the frame. The Ponies got a 10-4 run going late in the quarter but it was not enough to make a dent in the deficit.

The Ponies still battled in the fourth quarter. Late in the game, the Ponies cut the deficit to 63-45. But there was not enough time as the Ponies went on to lose. Butler led the Ponies with 15 points while Welch scored 23 and Polesky scored 20 for the Cowboys.

The Ponies finish their Northeast A schedule with a 3-5 record and they split the season series with Miles City. Last month, the Ponies defeated Miles City thanks to a buzzer beater from Jenkins, but Burgess believes the Cowboys just had a different energy this time out.

“They just played really hard. They really wanted that game. You could tell they were fired up,” Burgess said. “Tough pill to swallow, but we understand that nothing matters until we get down to the Metra at the end of February. We take it as a learning lesson for us.”

The Ponies were able to rebound Saturday with a win at Hardin. The first quarter showed how competitive the game would be as the teams exchanged scores through the opening frame. Kingston Hugs got the game started with a 3-pointer and Isaac Pedraza made one of his own to tie the game. After Hance Three Irons made a layup, Pedraza nailed another three to give Havre a 6-5 lead. Pedraza then scored again to push the lead to 8-5 halfway through the quarter.

Jadence Archilta made a layup and then a free throw to tie the game up again. After a free throw from Butler to retake the lead, Antonio Espinoza scored to give Hardin a 10-9 lead. The teams continued to exchange leads over the last three minutes of the quarter. With the game tied 14-14, the Bulldogs went on a small run to take an 18-15 lead. But a layup from Josh Currie and another three from Pedraza gave Havre a 20-18 lead. But Hugs made a three to give Hardin a 21-20 lead at the break.

The second quarter saw the teams continue to exchange blows. After some free throws from Pedraza to take a 23-22 lead, Keenan Wuttunee scored to take it back for the Bulldogs. Pedraza answered right back with a layup to give Havre a 25-24 lead with just under six minutes left in the half.

The Bulldogs finally took momentum with a 14-2 run. Hugs got it started with a three to retake the lead. The Cowboys then made another three to keep momentum going. After Patascil made a pair of free throws, the Bulldogs just kept things rolling to take a 38-27 lead late in the half. Thanks to buckets from Tre Gary, Crawford Terry and Pedraza, the Ponies cut the deficit to 42-36. But a free throw and a bucket stretched Hardin’s lead to 45-36 at halftime. Burgess believes the Bulldogs got hot late in the half because they were feeding off their fans' energy.

“Anytime you go down there, they’re always going to have a good crowd. Their place has a ton of energy,” Burgess said. “They get after it. They go get offensive rebounds, they play hard on defense and they’re going to force uncomfortable situations.”

The Bulldogs started the second half on a 10-4 run to stretch the lead to 55-40 halfway through the third. But the Ponies did not relent as they went on a 13-1 run to end the quarter. Caleb Spangler got the run started with a couple of buckets. After a Pedraza free throw, Currie made a three and a layup. After Gunner Plenty made a free throw, Gary nailed a three to cut the deficit to 56-53.

Currie tied the game with a three to start the fourth. The Cowboys responded with a score to retake the lead but Pedraza scored to tie it up again. Another three from Currie then gave Havre the lead. The Ponies carried that momentum as they stretched their lead to 66-61 with less than three minutes left in the game.

But the Bulldogs refused to go away. The Cowboys made a pair of layups to cut the deficit to 66-65. After Pedraza made a pair of free throws, Three Irons made a layup to make the score, 68-67, with just under a minute left.

Over the final 57 seconds of the game, the Ponies and Bulldogs went back and forth. After a turnover by the Ponies, Three Irons scored a bucket to give Hardin a 69-68 lead. Moments later, Spangler made a free throw to tie the game with 21.6 seconds left.

On the next Hardin possession, the Ponies stole the ball and took it to the other end. With a chance to take the lead, Butler got fouled and was sent to the charity stripe with 1.2 seconds left. Butler sank both shots to give Havre a 71-69 lead. 24 did not get his half-court heave to go in and the Ponies held on for the win.

“Just really proud of the way our boys responded throughout the whole game,” Burgess said about the comeback. “Kudos to the kids for showing their growth. We got contributions from everybody that played on the floor.”

Pedraza led the Ponies with 30 points as he knocked down four 3-pointers. Currie also scored 13 points thanks to his trio of threes. Wuttunee led the Bulldogs with 20 points.

With the win, the Ponies improved to 7-8 on the season. They now only have a few games left before divisionals in Billings in a few weeks. As they go down the stretch, Burgess just wants to have the postseason in mind.

“The last three games are non conference so it’s not a win-loss thing for us anymore. It’s more getting ourselves ready for that end goal,” Burgess said. “Our main goal is to improve and get ready for that.”

The Ponies next play Tuesday night on the road in Fairfield. They then return home to Havre High Gymnasium to play Browning Thursday night.

Miles City 67, Havre 49

HAV - 8 12 10 19 - 49

MC - 23 13 15 16 - 67

HAV - Xavier Butler 15, Caden Jenkins 11, Tre Gary 11, Crawford Terry 4, Shane Patascil 4, Isaac Pedraza 4.

MC - Zach Welch 23, Dalton Polesky 20, Ed Brooks 12, Logan Muri 8, Aidan Cline 2, Dylan Gundlach 2.

Havre 71, Hardin 69

HAV - 20 16 17 18 - 71

HAR - 21 24 11 13 - 69

HAV - Isaac Pedraza 30, Josh Currie 13, Tre Gary 7, Xavier Butler 6, Caleb Spangler 5, Shane Patascil 5, Crawford Terry 2, Caden Jenkins 2.

HAR - Keenan Wuttunee 20, Kingston Hugs 13, Antonio Espinoza 9, Mugsy 8, Hance Three Irons 7, Jadence Archilta 5, Keyan Fitzpatrick 3, Gunner Plenty 1, JT 1.