Basketball Game Preview: Columbia Heights Hylanders vs. Hopkins Royals

The Columbia Heights Hylanders will wrap up 2024 with a road trip to face off against the Hopkins Royals at 1:00 p.m. on Friday.

Last Wednesday, Columbia Heights had to suffer through a 73-39 loss at the hands of Mahtomedi. The contest marked the Hylanders' lowest-scoring game so far this season.

Meanwhile, Hopkins put another one in the bag on Friday to keep their perfect season alive. They blew past St. Louis Park 105-80. Given the Royals' advantage in MaxPreps' Minnesota basketball rankings (they are ranked fourth, while the Orioles are ranked 51st), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.

Hopkins pushed their record up to 6-0 with the win, which was their sixth straight on the road dating back to last season. The wins came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 94.3 points per game. As for Columbia Heights, this is the second loss in a row for them and nudges their season record down to 2-5.

Everything went Columbia Heights' way against Hopkins in their previous meeting back in February of 2022, as Columbia Heights made off with a 69-49 victory. Does Columbia Heights have another victory up their sleeve, or will Hopkins turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.