Is this the year that Bryan Hughes and Barr-Reeve get over the state championship hump? Hughes has guided Barr-Reeve to five state title game appearances now. The Vikings have dropped the first four games including last year's title game against Marquette Catholic. Hughes and Barr-Reeve get another crack at Marquette on Saturday.

Barr-Reeve defeated Marquette Catholic on December 6 at the Tip-Off Classic held at Southport High School. The winning margin was 12 points, but the game was closer than the final score. Marquette led by 15 points in the first half and 11 points at halftime.

Slowing down Ryan Fazekas will be priority number one for Barr-Reeve. The Providence College-bound wing tallied 34 points in the state title game last year and was a major reason why Marquette captured the title. He scored 20 points in the meeting earlier this season, but 13 were in the first quarter. When he was scoring at-will, Marquette was in control of the game.

Barr-Reeve is not a deep team. Coach Hughes relies heavily on his five starters. The go to player has been Addison Wagler for the last couple of seasons. Wagler leads Barr-Reeve in scoring (16.4) and rebounding (5.8). He battles in the paint every time that he takes the floor. Wagler tallied 30 points in the meeting earlier this year. Marquette will need to keep him under control if they expect to win.

Junior guard Logan James came up huge in the semi-state game for Barr-Reeve. James has only averaged 10.9 points per game this season, but he poured in 26 including 24 points in the second half to defeat Clay City. James does a many things for Barr-Reeve. He averaged four rebounds, nearly five assists and 1.7 steals per game this season. He is also an 82% free throw shooting that can seal games late for Barr-Reeve.

Duncan Roy is another major contributor for Barr-Reeve. The senior wing averaged 11 points this season while shooting a high percentage from the field. He shot 38% from 3-point range and 56% overall this season. Barr-Reeve will need a good game from Roy in order to beat Marquette.

Chris Wittmer and Seth Swartzentruber also start, play major minutes and contribute for Barr-Reeve. Swartzentruber is a good outside shooter while Wittmer usually sets up his teammates for easy buckets.

Will Bryan Hughes get the state title that has narrowly escaped him so many times? Slowing down Ryan Fazekas, establishing Wagler in the post and getting efficient production from James or Roy would put Barr-Reeve in a great position to do just that.