Edina at No. 2 Hopkins
7 p.m., Tuesday, Feb. 18

Powerful Hopkins has lost just one game all season, a 96-90 setback against top-ranked Apple Valley back on Dec. 10. Those two programs seem on a collision course to meet again in the state Class 4A championship game in March but need to take care of business the rest of the way. The Royals have won 18 straight since that loss, averaging an amazing 88.9 points per game. That total includes an 86-74 victory over Edina on Jan. 9 in which Stephon Sharp (15.4 ppg) led four players in double figures with 20 points. Amir Coffey (15.0 ppg) and John Warren (11.7 ppg) had 16 points each and Citadel-bound sharp-shooter Jake Wright (17.0 ppg) had 13. That balance and depth of talent is what makes Hopkins so tough to beat. Edina had its own scoring balance in that game, as senior Mahad Haji (13.3 ppg) also led four scorers in double figures with 25 points. But the Hornets are young, as the other three scorers — Walt McGrory (14.0 ppg), Ben Boone (9.6 ppg) and Max Lynch (9.3 ppg) — are a freshman and two juniors.