Hopkins coach Ken Novak Jr. knew what was on the line in his team’s Lake Conference boys basketball game against Maple Grove on Tuesday, Jan. 6.

Novak was at coaching victory No. 999.

After the final buzzer sounded with a 75-70 win against the Crimson, Novak did not celebrate. The legendary head coach lightly embraced his assistant and proceeded down the handshake line. Fans cheered, but there was no announcement.

The Royals players seemed more excited than Novak to see win No. 1,000 come to fruition, but it’s been a long career, which started at Blaine in 1982.

Novak is now 13 wins away from surpassing Bob McDonald’s all-time boys state record of 1,012 coaching wins set in 2014.

“It’s gone so fast, it’s scary,” Novak said following the game. “It’s one game. It was actually a good game. Two teams that are decent. We’re getting better.”

Hopkins senior Jayden Moore scored 13 of his 18 points in the second half, including his team’s final six points. Xavier Frelix (16 points), Tre Moore (13) and Kyree Nelson (11) also scored in double figures for the Royals.

“It’s just a great team win,” said Jayden Moore, who made two free throws in the waning seconds to seal the victory. “We had good preparation throughout the week. So we were very confident coming into this game ... Coach getting his 1,000th win, he’s legendary.”

Hopkins (7-3), ranked No. 10 in the latest Class 4A coaches poll, pulled off the upset against the No. 3 Crimson in a performance that seemed quite different from a squad that suffered a three-game losing streak in December.

Novak pointed out his team “really struggled” in a humbling 81-68 loss Dec. 19 against St. Louis Park. That came after falling to Class 4A and Class 3A powers Tartan and Totino-Grace by single digits earlier in December.

But the Royals won a fourth straight game Jan. 6, playing their trademark up-tempo style, and it started with intense defensive pressure from end to end.

“We’re starting to run the floor better,” Novak said. “Our speed is starting to take over, which we weren’t doing before.”

At halftime, Hopkins led 42-35 despite giving up 12 points to Maple Grove’s Max Iversen, who finished with a game-high 25 points. The Crimson got 15 points from 7-footer Jack Thelen, but their star guard Baboucarr Ann was limited to 14 points in a performance that included several turnovers.

“I was proud of our guys in the second half because we started to figure out some things,” Maple Grove coach Nick Schroeder said. “We need to start seeing some consistency with how we play. It’s coming.”

Schroeder on Novak’s milestone victory: “Good for him. ... He’s been around a long time. I remember when I was starting off coaching. He was so nice to me.”