Senior Night: HHS trio wants to finish strong

Things haven’t been easy for the Havre High boys basketball program in recent years. But each postseason, hope and determination springs eternal. And that’s the case for the Blue Pony seniors. They want to make their last ride a great one.

Kade Rismon, Jon Faber and Brian Smith have all played for the Ponies for the last four seasons and the trio will make their final home appearance Saturday night when the Ponies host the Lewistown Golden Eagles at the HHS gymnasium.

Rismon has been a four-year letter winner and a three-year starter, while Faber and Smith came onto the varsity scene as juniors and earned key roles as seniors. Smith has emerged as a starting guard, while Faber is one of the first subs off the bench for head coach Curt Leeds. Rismon has anchored the Ponies’ post game the last three seasons, but has also stepped up his shooting game in the hopes of helping the program get back to the state tournament in his final prep season.

“My outside shooting has improved the most,” Rismon said. “Especially my mid-range shooting. That has helped my game a lot, and I got there by just shooting around a lot in the offseason and continuing to work. But I just wish we could have made the state tournament in the past. I haven’t been there before, and I know the team hasn’t made it for quite a few years. But I think we have a shot at getting there this year, and that would be a great way to end a career.”

This senior group will have to continue to carry a big part of the load if they hope to end their careers with a shot at a state title.

Rismon leads the team with 10 blocks this season and is second with six rebounds per game, including 56 defensive boards. He is also averaging more than 12 points per game and is shooting 72 percent from the free-throw-line and 53 percent from 2-point range. Faber has also played key minutes; totaling 23 rebounds and 13 assists this season off the bench. Smith also averages a handful of points per game, but is second on the team with 29 assists.

“It has been a good career,” Faber said. “Especially this year, it has been fun under coach Leeds. I think we have a good group of guys, and this team really gets on the floor and gets after it I think.

“It has been pretty fun,” Smith added. “Especially last year and this year getting to play varsity. Being a varsity starter is what everybody plays for. But state would be a big deal because we have never been there and the program hasn’t been there in, like, forever. It has been so long that I think if we can just get there, it would be a pretty big deal.”

But the senior class also knows how important it is to be leaders if they hope to take the next step into the postseason. There are seven underclassmen on the varsity roster this season, including two sophomores in the starting lineup. The success of the program greatly depends on the play of the three seniors, but also their leadership.

“We really want the whole team to be successful,” Faber said. “Including the younger guys. We try to show them some things that we have learned and just play with them. I really think some of those young guys are some of our best players, so while they can learn something from us, we can learn something from them, too.”

Havre has just four regular season games before the divisional tournament in Belgrade. Two of those games are conference games for the third-place Ponies. And a win over Lewistown Saturday at home, senior night, means the Ponies will finish no lower than third, and still have a shot at second place in the Central A. A top finish is key for the Ponies as a divisional title and state berth are still the main goals.

“I think we can do it,” Smith said. “We beat Browning already this year, and we have played Belgrade close. We lost to them by 16 the first time, but the last time we played them we only lost by eight, so I really think we can get to state if we play those teams at divisionals.”

Rismon, Smith and Faber will be honored before Saturday night’s game against the Eagles. The game tips at 5 p.m. at the HHS gymnasium.