Basketball Game Preview: Camp Verde Cowboys vs. Northland Prep Academy Spartans

Camp Verde is on a six-game streak of home wins, while Northland Prep Academy is on a seven-game streak of away wins: one of those streaks is about to end. The Camp Verde Cowboys will host the Northland Prep Academy Spartans at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday.

Camp Verde is probably headed into the contest with a chip on their shoulder considering Scottsdale Christian Academy just ended the team's four-game winning streak on Tuesday. They took a 63-46 bruising from the Eagles.

Meanwhile, Northland Prep Academy was fully in charge on Tuesday, breezing past Hopi 64-37. Given the Spartans' advantage in MaxPreps' Arizona basketball rankings (they are ranked 153rd, while the Bruins are ranked 316th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.

Northland Prep Academy's win came from a few key players Camp Verde will need to keep an eye on. One of the most notable was Jaden Joiner, who went 7 for 15 en route to 19 points and five rebounds. He is also on a roll when it comes to steals, as he's now grabbed two or more in the last nine games he's played. Another player making a difference was Ian Karren, who went 6 of 14 on his way to 15 points and three steals.

Northland Prep Academy is on a roll lately: they've won ten of their last 11 matches, which provided a nice bump to their 17-8 record this season. The wins came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 67.2 points per game. As for Camp Verde, their defeat ended a three-game streak of away wins and brought them to 13-11.

Everything came up roses for Camp Verde against Northland Prep Academy in their previous meeting back in November of 2023, as the squad secured a 64-36 victory. Does Camp Verde have another victory up their sleeve, or will Northland Prep Academy turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.