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Hopkins overcomes early offensive struggles, handles Edina in conference win

By Luke Hanlon, SportsEngine, 01/31/20, 6:00PM CST

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Kerwin Walton led the Royals by scoring at will in the second half for 17 of his 26 points.


Kerwin Walton (12) takes a shot from the top of the key. Walton scored a game-high 26 points as the Royals defeated Lake Conference rival Edina 69-58 on Friday night. Photo by Cheryl A. Myers, SportsEngine

Records are decided by wins and losses, but performances can say a lot more about a team than their record. Teams, coaches and players are expected to be satisfied after a win, but given the expectations that go along with Hopkins basketball, coach Ken Novak Jr. was not pleased with just getting a 69-58 win against Edina.

“I thought we were very undisciplined and very sloppy,” he said. “It’s not about the win, it’s not about the loss, it’s about every single time going out and playing the possession and playing the right way. If you don’t play the right way you’re going to get yourself beat and we were able to pull it out, but we have to make sure we’re much crisper, cleaner, much more fundamental than we were.” 

The sloppiness and undisciplined play was still enough for a win, and a big reason for that was the play of Kerwin Walton. He finished with a game-high 26 points, and 17 of those points came in the second half, when the Royals, ranked No. 5 in Class 4A by Minnesota Basketball News, played much better as a team on the offensive end. 


Hopkins' Andre Gray (21) blocks Brady Helgren's lay up in the second half. Gray tallied 12 points in the Royals 69-58 win over Edina. Photo by Cheryl A. Myers, SportsEngine

First Report

Hopkins picked up its fifth Lake Conference win in six tries when it defeated Edina 69-58 Friday night at home in the Lindbergh Center. 

The Royals (14-4, 5-1), ranked No. 5 in Class 4A by Minnesota Basketball News, took the lead early in the game, and never lost it once they got it, eventually winning by 11. 

Both teams struggled offensively early on, but the game opened up near the end of the first half, as there were 36 total points in the first 13:31 of the half and 25 total points in the final 4:29 of the half. 

The offense was much crisper in the second half, and Kerwin Walton was a big reason for that. He scored 17 of his game-high 26 points in the second half, and looked like he could do whatever he wanted on the offensive end. 

Sammy Presthus led the way for the Hornets (9-9, 1-5), as he had a team-high 16 points and a team-high five assists. Jacob Hutson and Brady Helgren each added a double-double, as they combined for 23 points and 26 rebounds.


Edina's Sammy Presthus (14) drives to the basket over Hopkins' defender Jaelen Treml (1). Presthus scored a team-high 16 points for the Hornets. Photo by Cheryl A. Myers, SportsEngine

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