Hopkins Boys Basketball Heads to State Semifinals

Hopkins boys basketball coach Ken Novak, Jr. calls his Royals squad an equal opportunity team, and they put that mentality on display when it mattered most Wednesday against Owatonna.

The Huskies cut Hopkins’ 17-point lead down six with seven minutes to play, but Royals junior Nicholas Jorgensen hit his lone basket of the game—a 3-pointer on the next possession—and Joe Coleman capped off a 7-1 run with an emphatic dunk as the Royals went on to beat Owatonna 71-57 in the Class AAAA quarterfinal at Target Center.

“(Jorgensen) always comes in and makes big threes,” Coleman said. “It was much appreciated.”

Hopkins, the two-time defending champion and top seed in this year’s tournament, moves on to face Cretin-Derham Hall on Thursday at 6 p.m.

But even the Royals’ experience didn’t shield them from feeling the nerves of the state tournament, and it showed throughout the first half. Hopkins trailed three times in the first half and were twice down by five, but each time the talented Royals found a way to never let Owatonna extend its lead out of reach.

“I don’t think we underestimated them, but I think everyone else does and we can feel that,” Novak said. “It’s that subconscious feeling that we’re supposed to be blowing them out, but when they did make their (second half) run, we held strong. That’s what we needed to do.”

The Royals (29-1) began showing their size and athleticism in the second half, growing their lead to as many as 17 thanks to balanced scoring and a crippling inside presence. Much of that was thanks to senior Marvin Singleton, who had 20 points and 16 rebounds in the contest and acted as the foundation for Hopkins’ big second half.

Singleton was the catalyst for the Royals’ inside game—Hopkins outscored the Huskies 40-28 in the paint.

“He’s the guy that’s going to get it done,” Novak said. “He generally does it all.”

Coleman added 20 points in the contest, junior Siyani Chambers had 12 and junior Zach Stahl added 11. 

But it was the combination of Jorgansen’s big 3-pointer followed by Coleman’s energizing dunk that put the Huskies away. The Royals spread the wealth when they needed it most.

“(Coleman’s dunk) got us revved up and got us going,” Singleton said. 

“They were starting to come back a little bit, but after the dunk the momentum shifted,” he said. “We were able to get our team involved with an up-tempo pace.”

GAME STATISTICS

Owatonna 29 28 — 57

Hopkins 40 31 — 71

Scoring — HOP: Joe Coleman 20, Marvin Singleton 20, Demetrius Martin 4, Zach Stahl 11, Siyani Chambers 12, Andre McDonald 1, Nicholas Jorgansen 3, OWA: Parker Butler 2, Mitch Hawkins 4, Tyler Supalla 3, Mitch Sebring 4, Vaugh Thada 24, Drew Osmundson 14, Quentin Smith 6. Assists leaders — HOP: Z. Stahl 4. Rebound leaders — M. Singleton 16, Z. Stahl 6. Turnovers — HOP: 16, OWA: 22. Fouls — HOP: 20, OWA: