Mustangs Gallop To Win On Knox Hall-Of-Fame Night

On a night where Knox Community Schools would be honoring some of their greatest athletes in school history, as well as one of the greatest teams in school history, the Redskins Boys Basketball Team would take center court, playing host to the Kouts Mustangs of the Porter County Conference.

Prior to the start of the game, Knox would recognize the Regional Championship Boys Basketball Team from 2000, which went 22-3 on the year, winning the school’s first Sectional Championship since 1973, and the first Regional Championship since 1962. The 2000 Regional Champion roster of Bob Binkley, Corey Clemons, Andrew Davis, Jason Dulin, Jeff Fosler, Ryan Greer, Josh Lawrence, Prentis Minix, Tyler Moore, Scott Richie, and Brandon Webb were recognized in front of the home crowd at Weinberg Gym. Many of the fans remembering that incredible season, undoubtedly envisioning the young men who gave more thrills during that season than Knox had experienced in nearly three decades. It was a great lead-in, to what would be a very entertaining basketball game between Knox and Kouts.

The first quarter would begin with every bit of excitement and energy as everyone had expected. The two teams would fly up and down the floor, doing a tremendous job in both offensive as well as defensive transition, as the crowd would see multiple players get chased down from behind to have the ball knocked away, on what appeared to be surefire layup opportunities. The crowd was also treated to another rim shaking slam dunk by Knox Sophomore sensation Kole McIntire, who would receive a pinpoint outlet pass from Brock Taulbee who was able to steal the ball away from the Mustangs, deep in the paint. McIntire’s production was not limited to that one highlight, as he would lead all scorers in the first half with 15 points, on his way to a game-high 24 on the night. At halftime, the scoreboard would show Kouts holding a 1-point lead over Knox 32-31, with 11 players scoring at least 2 points between the two teams. The back-and-forth was not done, however.

The third quarter would carry the same theme as the first two had, with momentum shifting more often than the wind shifting directions in a hurricane. Once again, it would be the Mustangs outscoring the Redskins in the third quarter, this time 17-15, giving Kouts a 3-point lead heading into the fourth quarter of play. The Mustangs would be able to keep the pace up, pressuring the Redskins with a combination of zone and man-to-man defenses, but mainly sticking with a base 2-3 zone for much of the game. Knox would see Senior Austin Taulbee come alive from behind the arc, as he knocked down a game-high four 3-pointers, with three coming in the second half.

In the end, Kouts would be able to pull out the road win against Knox, mainly due to rebounding and defense, as the Mustangs out-rebounded the Redskins 39-26, while also pulling away 10 steals to Knox’s 4 on their way to a 65-55 win. The Ashley Derrickson/Five Star Player of the game would go to Kouts Junior Hunter Kneifel, who scored 13 points, pulled down 9 rebounds, had 3 steals, and went 4-4 at the free throw line in the winning effort.

The Redskins now drop to 7-9 on the year, while Kouts improves to 15-1. Knox goes back into action on February 8th, when they play the first of three straight road games, when they travel to Twin Lakes. Kouts will be back at home on February 6th when they play host to Lake Station.

Game Statistics

Scoring

Kouts(65): Cole Wireman-13, Cale Wireman-13, Hunter Kneifel-16, Connor McCormick-13, Cooper Schoon-2, Matt Baker-8

Knox(55): Gunner Wagner-7, Cade Short-8, Zac Rose-2, Austin Taulbee-12, Kole McIntire-24, Braxton Geller-2

Free Throws

Knox: 9-12 75%

Kouts: 8-15 53%

Made 3-Point Shots

Kouts(5): Cale Wireman-3, Matt Baker-2

Knox(4): Austin Taulbee-4

Rebounding

Kouts(39): Cale Wireman-3, Joe Vick-1, Hunter Kneifel-10, Connor McCormick-9, Cooper Schoon-4, Matt Baker-2