On Fri. January 9, the Hopkins Royals boys basketball team travels to Edina to take on the Hornets. The Hornets come into the game with a 9-3 record an 0-2 Lake Conference record with loses to Minnetonka and Wayzata. However, this game won’t be a cakewalk for the Royals. Edina has five players whom average over 10 points a game.

The Royals have a 9-4 record and are 1-0 in Lake Conference play. The one Royals Lake Conference win was on Dec. 11 against Wayzata as Vinnie Shahid, junior, hit a game winner. Since then, the Royals have found their groove winning the past five games.

After struggling to find their identity post Amir Coffey, junior, they finally found their stride with John Warren, senior, at the helm.

Warren scored 31 points to fuel the comeback against Eastview to win the Augsburg tournament over winter break while playing with a sprained hand. His good play continued with the latest win, against Cretin-Derham Hall on Jan. 6.

The Royals once again ranked in the Top 10 in class AAAA after dropping out earlier this year. They look to push their win streak to six games and stay undefeated in the Lake Conference.

The game is on Friday, Jan. 9 at Edina Community Center. Tip off is scheduled to be at 7PM.