Basketball Game Preview: Cozad Haymakers vs. Chase County Longhorns

The Cozad Haymakers will square off against the Chase County Longhorns at 6:00 p.m. on Thursday. Keep an eye on the score for this one: the two teams posted some lofty point totals in their previous games.

Chase County will be up against a hot Cozad squad: the team just extended their winning streak to five. Cozad claimed a resounding 75-31 victory over Minden. The Haymakers have made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won ten contests by 21 points or more this season.

Kellen Shoemaker

Assists

02/25/25 vs Minden	5
02/20/25 @ McCook	2
02/14/25 vs Broken Bow	2
02/08/25 vs Dundy County-Stratton	1
02/07/25 @ Minden	2
+ 11 more games

Multiple players turned in solid performances to lead Cozad to victory, but perhaps none more so than Kellen Shoemaker, who went 5-for-8 en route to 13 points along with five assists and four steals. That's the most assists Shoemaker has posted since back in January. Another player making a difference was Noah Shoemaker, who put up 11 points and five steals.

Chase County got their first taste of in-conference action this week and they started things off strong. They came out on top against Central City by a score of 66-56 on Tuesday.

Cozad better focus on containing Zak Anderson and Camron Lempke as the pair were huge in Chase County's win. Anderson went 7-for-10 from beyond the arc to rack up 21 points, while Lempke scored 16 points in addition to five assists and four steals. Lempke is becoming a predictor of Chase County's success: when he posts at least three steals the team is 4-1 (and 7-9 when he doesn't). James Bomba was another key player, putting up 13 points.

Shoemaker wasn't the only one working in the assist department: Chase County was working as a unit and finished the game with 16 assists. Chase County is 11-5 when they've passed the ball that well.

Chase County has been performing well recently as they've won four of their last five matchups. That's provided a nice bump to their 11-10 record this season. Those victories came thanks in part to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 58.6 points over those games. Cozad pushed their record up to 22-3 with the win, which was their third straight at home.

Rebounding is likely to be a big factor in this contest: Cozad has been smashing the glass this season, having averaged 26.1 boards per game. However, it's not like Chase County struggles in that department as they've been averaging 27.4 rebounds. With both teams battling to corral missed shots, we'll see if one team can grab an edge.

Cozad strolled past Chase County in their previous matchup back in December of 2024 by a score of 55-39. Will Cozad repeat their success, or does Chase County have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.