MONTGOMERY, Ind. — There was a common theme relayed to members of the Barr-Reeve basketball program since last season ended.
“They’re a year away.”
It made sense to some degree ― the Vikings were comprised mostly of juniors and sophomores with a new head coach. Success isn’t guaranteed.
That’s not how Barr-Reeve operates. Never has. What’s occurring only cemented this belief.
The No. 2 Vikings are one of the eight teams remaining in the IHSAA Class 1A state tournament ahead of a semi-state semifinal with No. 9 Liberty Christian at 9 a.m. CT on Saturday, March 21 at Washington. Common place for a program consistently among the best small schools in Indiana.
“No one outside the locker room would see us here,” junior Kierson Lengacher said. “Everyone was saying we’re a year away. It motivated us to keep working every single day.”
This attitude is partly what drew Heath Howington to Daviess County.
Spending the last five seasons at Memorial, highlighted by back-to-back 18-win campaigns and a sectional championship, he had no intention of looking elsewhere. Until Barr-Reeve called. Not only did it make sense as a family ― his wife, Megan, was named the assistant principal for grades 6-12 — but on the basketball court.
Barr-Reeve has won 11 games or more in 51 straight seasons. Among its accomplishments (including this year): 19 sectionals, 10 regionals, seven semi-states and two state championships (2015, 2021). The Vikings graduated three of their top four scorers but still produced another worthy season for the archives.
“There’s a standard of excellence,” Howington said. “We wanted to make sure we kept that intact but also put our own stamp on it this season. Our guys have an outstanding job.”
The summer helped both players and coaches work out any bugs after Howington was hired in May. He genuinely hasn’t run into any true issues. Since day one, the program has remained on the same page. Barr-Reeve opened the season with nine straight wins until losing by eight against similarly successful Brownstown Central on Jan. 6. The Vikings (25-1) are perfect on the scoreboard ever since.
That young roster? It doesn’t play like one. Lengacher (13.9), sophomore Jaylon Graber (11.4) and sophomore Braxton Neidigh (10.1) average in double figures, but Howington isn’t afraid to go eight deep in the rotation. Barr-Reeve is ninth across all classes at 41.0 points allowed per game.
It beat defending state champion Orleans twice, rivals Loogootee and North Daviess twice, sectional champion North Dubois and regional champion Bloomfield. Even close games aren’t an issue: seven victories by five points or less since January.
“It’s an unselfish group,” Howington said. “They’re playing for the name on the front, not the one on the back. Our balance on the offensive end has been a big asset late in the season, but we’re fueled by our defense. We’ll go as far as that will take us.”
Despite the accumulated win total, the true marker for Howington came two weeks ago. Barr-Reeve won three rematches by an average of 21.3 points to win the sectional title at Loogootee. A 55-53 regional victory against West Washington was closer than it should have been after the Vikings missed several free throws in the fourth quarter.
“I think it hit during sectional week this is where we’re supposed to be,” Howington said. “This community has been nothing but welcoming to our entire family.”
There’s an argument for all four teams arriving at The Hatchet House to represent the South at Gainbridge Fieldhouse.
Liberty Christian is long and athletic with multiple playmakers. No. 11 Bloomfield might have the best player in Blake Neill, plus a supporting cast around him playing their best ball. No. 3 Hauser is the Sagarin favorite with an offense averaging 70.4 points. There’s a lot of talent, both playing and coaching, arriving in Washington on Saturday.
What could allow the Vikings to cut down the nets?
“Be us,” Graber said. “Play our hardest and wear the team down. Everybody is doing their role in practice, helping us out and getting the varsity ready. We have a good team coming in on Saturday. It’s going to be tough, but the way we’ve been practicing we’ll be good.”
The expectation remains the same: play hard and see where the chips fall. That’s what guided Barr-Reeve basketball to success for five decades. It remained true over the last four months. New coach. New players. Same program.
Next stop could be a trip to Indianapolis.
“It’s a loaded field,” Howington said. “If we can make it more of a possession game, we’ll have a better opportunity to play Saturday night. Everybody told them before the season, ‘They’re a year away.’ We are pretty young. They’ve used that as fuel to have the best season they could.
“Just a competitive group of kids that play for each other and aren’t ready to be done.”
Kyle Sokeland is a sports reporter for the Courier & Press. Follow him on X (formerly Twitter) @kylesokeland or email at kyle.sokeland@courierpress.com.
This article originally appeared on Evansville Courier & Press: How Barr-Reeve basketball remained a contender under a new head coach
Reporting by Kyle Sokeland, Evansville Courier & Press / Evansville Courier & Press
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