Royals triumph in Lake opener

Prologue
Its off to Eden Prairie for the Lake Conference opener between #2AAAA Hopkins and #5AAAA Eden Prairie.  Late concession stand opening with a hot dog that by itself was pretty decent.  Deductions from the East German judge for the paper wrapping sticking to the bun which almost ruined the entire night and for the bun being whole wheat.  Thumbs up for nutrition but not here.  Sid Hartman, Dave Lee and Bud Grant all take in the first half of this one.  Performances from the EP cheerleaders and Jazz Dance squad who dance expert Tom Krosschell tells me are in the running to make state in a very tough section.  So with that in mind, for today's music, put your hands up and put a ring on it

Song of the Day
Beyonce - All the Single Ladies (yes I did the hand thing during the song, boo to me, oh oh oh guilty pleasure)

Game Time
Hopkins off to a fast start with Siyani Chambers for 3 and a turnover leads to a Jamal Davis dunk to force an Eagles timeout.  Demetrius Martin adds a 3 as the Royals score the 1st 12 points of the game.  Sander Mohn breaks the drought at the 13:30 mark.  Nick Jorgenson with nice first half inside.  His back to back hoops combined with a pair of buckets from soph SG Jake Wright put Hopkins up 26-8 inside of 7 minutes left in the half.  Andre Wallace with back to back triples and a pair of FTs for 8 in a row to cut the lead to 31-16 outside of the 5 minute mark.  Grant Schaeffer out on the break, Siyani Chambers measures him to cut across his face for the steal but WHOOOP, Schaeffer goes around his world (wraps it all the way around behind his back) for the 3 point play on one of the slickest finishes you'll see all year.  41-20 Hopkins.  Then Andre Wallace for 3 with 5 seconds left in the half only to see Siyani Chambers knock it down pure from halfcourt at the halftime buzzer.  46-27 Hopkins.  Hopkins adds the first 8 of the 2nd half and this one looks like running time 54-27 Hopkins leading.  Stop that press machine.  EP knocks down 6 3s in the half as the Eagles storm back on a 19-2 run.   Sander Mohn with 3 of those.  Jack Cottrell with a strong play to rip a rebound away and he finds Mohn all alone.  That 3 is nothing but the bottom of the net and EP is within 10, 56-46 with 8:40 to play.  But the Eagles would get no closer.  Zach Stahl banks in a 3 and then blocks a jumper from Mohn.  The run is 12-2 to push the lead right back to 20.  Hopkins cruises from there for a 76-59 win.

Post Game
For Eden Prairie, Sander Mohn and soph guard Andre Wallace lead the way with 17 each.  Wallace was 5-7 shooting from 3, but strangely 0-9 from 2.  Rare stat there.  Abrian Carpenter again active with 12 rebounds.  19 turnovers for Eden Prairie.  The Eagles fall to 13-4 and 0-1 in the Lake Conference after this back to back loss.  The road ahead is league play and that's brutal.  At Minnetonka on Friday, a tough non-conference game at Elk River on Monday and then undefeated Wayzata comes calling next Friday.

For Hopkins, Siyani Chambers 18 points and 5 assists.  Nick Jorgenson 19 points and 6 rebounds.  Zach Stahl 11 points and 4 boards with South Dakota on hand to see him.  Demetrius Martin 13 of his 15 in the first half with 3 triples.  Interesting that during the 19-2 Eden Prairie run in the 2nd half Hopkins decided to go back to their 1-2-2 matchup.  I'm all for coaching but this seemed to be too much with a 19 point lead.  Hopkins is good enough in their man, especially against an Eden Prairie team that isn't all that athletic (besides Wallace of course), that the zone could have been shelved and/or saved until 2nd meeting.  Panic button or genius?  Hind sight is always 20/20.  Hopkins is now 1-0 in the Lake, 16-1 overall.  Big game for them at #4 Wayzata (16-0) on Friday night before hosting rival Minnetonka on Monday.