St. Louis Park at Robbinsdale Cooper
7 p.m., Friday, Feb. 12

It has taken the majority of the season, but the contenders in the Metro West Conference have finally emerged.

With just a handful of games remaining on the schedule, it is gut-check time for St. Louis Park (16-6, 7-3) as it looks to get by league rivals No. 8-3A Benilde-St. Margaret's and Robbinsdale Cooper (14-5, 7-3) this week. 

The Orioles and Hawks need a win to keep pace with league leader Chaska, which holds a one-game advantage in the standings. The No. 10-4A Hawks have meetings against St. Louis Park and Cooper in the final week of the season.

St. Louis Park used a balanced scoring attack to defeat Cooper in their last matchup, led by 17-point performances from junior forward Josiah Morrow and senior guard Ray Whitlock.

The Orioles survived a 25-point night from Hawks senior guard Melvin Newbern in the 85-77 home win on Jan. 15.