The Ironmen will hit the hardwood taking on the U-High Pioneers in the Intercity tournament Monday night at the Shirk Center.

The Iron are looking to defend last season’s Intercity championship, extending their streak of five consecutive wins over the Pioneers in tournament play.

Community takes the floor with five new starters this season, facing a U-High roster rife with returning players.

The Pioneers, Assistant Coach Matt Schweinberg said, are “pretty much returning everyone from last year,” — which might be a benefit for the Iron.

“They were a pretty junior heavy team last year,” Schweinberg said, “so we know the guys fairly well, and we’ve been watching film from last year.

“We know their tendencies,” the coach said, “and in practice, we’ve been preparing for the different things we might see. It makes it a little bit easier when everybody’s returning.”

The Iron will be without 6’4’’ junior guard Braylon Roman who is currently dealing with a broken shooting hand.

As one of the Iron who saw serious minutes last season, the loss of Roman, Schweinberg said, “hurts.”

“Braylon’s going to be a huge part of what we’re doing this year. He’s a really talented player,” Schweinberg said.

Roman’s teammates, the coach said, have been “really working hard, preparing for this year;” he expects a “committee” of Ironmen to fill point guard responsibilities until Roman is back in the lineup.

While Roman is “upset” to be missing a portion of his junior season, he said he knows his “team will get the job done,” Roman said.

The Iron’s 6’9’’ forward Jaheem Webber (’24) will see an increased workload this season.

Webber, with Division I offers from Illinois State, Southern Illinois and Bradley University, is “really excited to open the season,” seeing this year’s squad as a “new team… excited to show everyone what [they’re] about.”

The Ironmen tip-off at 7:30 p.m.