Boys basketball takes on #2 ranked Eagles in a Lake Conference battle

The Royals boys’ basketball team continues to extend their win streak and prove why they are the best team in Minnesota.

After back-to-back wins against the Wayzata Trojans and the Totino-Grace Eagles, the Royals have kept their top seed in Minnesota and have moved up to number 19 in the nation.

The Royals were able to win the revenge game against the Trojans 77-70 because of an all around effort from the guys. The Royals had five out of their seven players score double digits with Anthony Davis, senior, leading the way with 17.

The Royals next contest was against the Eagles, who were coming off back-to-back loses. The Royals again came on top 80-64 to extend their record to 15-1 and hand the Eagles their third straight loss.

The Royals are playing their best ball of the season and it’s helped with the defensive efforts they’ve been getting day in and day out.

“I think recently we have really come into our own on the defensive end, especially, and we are starting to see glimpses of the great team we can be,” said Joe Hedstrom, senior. “We’re trusting the coach, and ultimately just going out there and playing hard and trying to do something special.”

The Royals have not looked back since they lost their first game of the season to the Cretin-Derham Hall Raiders.

“Although there are ups and downs, I think our general trend is upward through the course of the last 10-11 games since our first loss in our first game. We’re growing closer as a unit and it’s been very fun to be around these guys. We generally like being with each other and that’s something special,” Hedstrom said.

The Royals go back into conference play tomorrow against the Eden Prairie Eagles. This game will bring together the two best teams in the state. The Eagles are putting together their own win streak which is currently at seven games.

Both teams only have one loss on the season and are both coming into the game undefeated in conference play.

The Eagles are being led by four sophomores, Drake Dobbs, Austin Andrews, John Henry, and Connor Christensen who are averaging 18.4, 17.6, 12.7 and 12.6 points per game, respectively.

The Royals next contest is against the Robbinsdale Cooper Hawks on Thur., Jan 25.