A historic day for basketball in the state of Indiana (4 IHSAA State Championship Games, in addition to the NCAA National Semifinals in Men’s Basketball, all in Indianapolis) tipped off with a clash for the Class 1A Championship.

The Barr-Reeve Vikings. The Kouts Mustangs. The Vikings’ stingy defense. The high-powered offensive attack of the Mustangs. Something had to give in this one.

Barr-Reeve came out firing with its one-two frontcourt punch of Curt Hopf and Hagen Knepp, setting the tone for how this one would play out. The Vikings held a 12-6 lead at the end of the First Quarter.

The Vikings were able to extend the lead to 26-12 at the Halftime break. Hopf already had a double-double (12 points, 11 rebounds), while Knepp had 9 points and 6 points, at the Half.

Brycen Graber added to his already IHSAA all-time leading assists total with 13 on the day, while Devin Graber chipped in 13 points for B-R.

Kouts battled back throughout the second half, displaying some flashes of its high-powered attack, getting as close as 8 points (43-35), behind the efforts of Cole Wireman (21 points) and Cale Wireman (15 points).

Barr-Reeve closed out the game in impressive fashion, closing the game with a 21-13 run (following the Mustangs pulling within 8 points).

Hopf finished just shy of a “20-20” double-double (23 points and 19 rebounds), while Knepp also had a double-double (16 points and 10 rebounds). Kouts ultimately had no answer for the B-R frontcourt.

Congratulations to the Mustangs on a fantastic season and run through the Northern half of 1A.

The Vikings ended up with the victory, 64-48. The 2021 Class 1A State Championship heads to Montgomery, as the Vikings add a second Boys Basketball State Championship trophy to the trophy case of Barr-Reeve High School.