This will be the first game of this year’s Breakdown boys' Tip-Off Classic and the game will top of at 9:30 a.m. in the west gym which is considered by many to be the main gym at Minnetonka.

Minneapolis Henry is 2-1 on the season this far destroying Minneapolis Edison and beating St. Anthony Village by nine but losing to Breck by 17 points in the opener.  They have huge conference games against Southwest and Washburn this week….Henry’s critical game versus Washburn as Friday night so they will play that game and then about 13 hours after that game is finished, they have to defend Marshawn and the Pioneers...

After going 16-11 a year ago Hill-Murray is already 4-0 under new head coach Brady Hannigan.  They have beat Holy Family, St. Paul Central, St. Paul Academy, and Highland Park for an impressive start…Hill-Murray plays River Falls on Tuesday and then has nearly four days rest before playing Henry, who of course will have about a half a day’s rest…Pioneer star Marshawn Wilson had 30 or more points in the first three games of the year but scored just eight in the crushing win over Highland Park as he sat through most of the blowout portion of the game. 

The Pioneers are getting strong balance as five players are scoring between seven and nine points a game…Demetrius Edwards-Brown leads Henry in scoring after three games putting up 18 a contest.  He’s supported by 14 a night from Jacarius Ford and 11.3 a game from Julian Jackson…Marshawn Wilson is also a star football running back who was named all state and could have a future in either hoops, or football...

Marshawn Wilson, Hill-Murray vs Demetrius Edwards-Brown, Mpls Patrick Henry

Wilson is the known commodity, “DEB” is the little known talent that is just starting to make a name for himself.  Wilson is a 6-foot-2 physically imposing guard while Edwards-Brown is an explosive 5-foot-11 junior guard.  Good chance for Demetrius to make a name for himself. 

Why Henry will win:  In addition to having quality ball pressuring guards, Henry is also the biggest team in the city conference.   The Pioneers are not very big at all so Henry has the inside advantage even with Ibrahim Mohammad not playing because of an ACL tear, they still have Julian Jackson and Ramaa Hudnell with size. 

Why Hill-Murray will win:  Everybody knows about Marshawn who can, and likely will take over good parts of the game but Simeon Davis, Jack Fahey, Chris Moore, and Sam Westby are giving this club more balance (on both ends( than expected).