The Havre boys’ basketball team is back on the court this weekend with games away from the Blue Pony Corral. New Media Broadcasters talked with Havre coach WaLynn Burgess and he discussed the importance of going out on the road in the Eastern ‘A’ basketball season.
“It’s one of the longest road trips we’ll take,” Burgess said. “It’s a real test. You’re on the road, staying in hotels, traveling days. It’s going to be enjoyable for us.”
“Just anytime you get on the road in the ‘East’, it’s always tough,” Burgess continued. “You’ve got to start adding your road miles and start being in hostile territories. You’re up against it and it’s a good test for us. We’re excited to get there.”
Getting there is starting off in the southeastern part of the state with contests against Hardin and Custer County. Coach Burgess first broke down the Bulldogs and said that playing in their gym can be wonky.
“We only understand that it’s going to be a battle,” Burgess said. “Anytime you get down into Hardin and go down to the “Dog Pound” “Dog City”, it’s just a really tough place to play.”
“We’ve had some weird things happen there,” Burgess continued. “(We) lost a game or two (and) won a game or two that we shouldn’t have.”
“They’re going to come out and play really hard,” Burgess said. “We’re going to have to match the energy, especially when they’re at home.”
The Ponies will then make the two-hour drive to Miles City to play the Cowboys. Coach Burgess said having Custer County up at Havre for the “East-West” Showdown will prove dividends for scouting purposes.
“We turn around the next night and go play a good Miles City team,” Burgess said. “I saw them up (in Havre) for the tipoff of the ‘East-West Showdown’. They’ve got some talent.”
“People might sleep on them because they lost a lot of their scoring from last year (because) they all graduated, but man, they just keep returning (players),” Burgess continued. “(They) have a lot of good guards that can run around and shoot some threes and a couple of big guys that are filling in now.”
The Hardin game for the Blue Pony boys’ is scheduled for 7:30pm on Friday night. The Custer County contest will tip off at 5pm. Both games can be heard on KOJM-610AM.
