Basketball Game Preview: Holdrege Dusters vs. Cozad Haymakers

Holdrege and Cozad are an even 5-5 against one another since January of 2017, but not for long. The Holdrege Dusters will square off against the Cozad Haymakers at 5:00 p.m. on Friday. One thing working in Holdrege's favor is that they have posted at least 55 points in their last nine matches.

Holdrege's tournament run continued when they took on Minden on Tuesday. Holdrege blew past Minden 78-57. The Dusters have made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won ten games by 20 points or more this season.

Meanwhile, Cozad entered their tilt with Valentine on Tuesday with five consecutive wins but they'll enter their next game with six. They came out on top against Valentine by a score of 52-40. Given the Haymakers' advantage in MaxPreps' Nebraska basketball rankings (they are ranked 25th, while Valentine are ranked 105th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.

Holdrege better keep an eye on Noah Shoemaker. He was instrumental in Cozad's win, going 10 of 22 on his way to 26 points and seven boards. That's the most points Shoemaker has posted since back in February of 2024. Olliver Davis was another key player, going 5 for 8 en route to 10 points and five rebounds.

Holdrege pushed their record up to 15-2 with the victory, which was their sixth straight at home. As for Cozad, they are also on a roll lately: they've won ten of their last 11 contests, which provided a nice bump to their 15-2 record this season.

Holdrege took a serious blow against Cozad in their previous meeting back in February of 2024, falling 83-32. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of Shoemaker, who went 8 of 14 on his way to 20 points in addition to six boards and four steals. Now that Holdrege knows the damage he can cause, will they be able to stop him this time? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.