Tuesday night's matchup on the Totino-Grace gym floor is one of contrasts, which should add up to a competitive and entertaining evening of basketball.
Robbinsdale Armstrong competes in Class 4A and Totino-Grace in Class 3A. The Falcons have a senior-dominated lineup, while the Eagles are led by a pair of freshmen and have no seniors on their roster. Armstrong is listed just outside the top-10 rankings in Class 4A and Totino-Grace is ranked No. 4 in its class.
Freshmen Taison Chatman (13.9 ppg) and CJ O'Hara (10.2 ppg) lead the Eagles (6-3,1-0) in scoring. Juniors Devin Burger (9.1 ppg), Joe Alt (8.2 ppg) and Carter Weierke (9.0 ppg in six games) add a little more experience to the Eagles' lineup. Add 6-foot-4 freshman Tommy Humphries (5.8 ppg) and the Eagles have six regulars standing between 6-foot-3 and 6-foot-6. DJ Akpati, a junior, averages 9.4 points.
The Eagles' three losses have come against Class 4A schools: Lakeville North (59-56 on Dec. 7), No. 10-4A Lakeville South (62-49 on Dec. 10) and No. 3-4A Cretin-Derham Hall (64-54 on Dec. 28).
Armstrong (7-1, 0-0), meanwhile, has won seven consecutive games after suffering a 79-56 season-opening loss to No. 7-4A Hopkins.
Seniors Jake Breitbach (15.0 ppg), Hezekiah Iyawe (13.1 ppg) and Adam Biewen (11.9 ppg) form the Falcons' core group for a second consecutive season. Dylan Inniger, a 6-4 junior, averages 7.9 points and D'Sean Larkins chips in with 8.2 points per game.