Basketball Game Preview: Central Valley Cougars vs. Heartland Lutheran Red Hornets

Central Valley has gone 10-0 against Heartland Lutheran recently and they'll look to pad the win column further on Thursday. The Central Valley Cougars will face off against the Heartland Lutheran Red Hornets at 7:30 p.m. Central Valley is strutting in with some offensive muscle as they've averaged 55.6 points per game this season.

Last Tuesday, Central Valley didn't have too much breathing room in their match against Elgin/Pope John, but they still walked away with a 60-54 victory.

Taesian Soto continued his habit of posting crazy stat lines, going 7 for 11 on his way to 19 points along with eight boards and three steals. That's the most points he has posted since back in December of 2024. Zaden Wolf was another key player, putting up nine points in addition to five assists and three blocks.

Meanwhile, Heartland Lutheran lost to Red Cloud on the road by a 50-33 margin on Tuesday. The Red Hornets haven't had much luck with the Warriors recently, as the team's come up short the last four times they've met.

Central Valley pushed their record up to 11-5 with the win, which was their fourth straight on the road. The wins came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 60.0 points per game. As for Heartland Lutheran, their loss dropped their record down to 4-12.

Central Valley took their victory against Heartland Lutheran when the teams last played back in January of 2024 by a conclusive 52-32. The rematch might be a little tougher for Central Valley since the team won't have the home-court advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.