The Cozad Haymakers waltzed into their match on Monday with two straight wins but they left with three. They really took it to Centura for the full four quarters, racking up a 65-37 win at home. Given Cozad's advantage in MaxPreps' Nebraska basketball rankings (they are ranked 20th, while the Centurions are ranked 188th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Noah Shoemaker was his usual excellent self, scoring 18 points along with four steals. He hasn't dropped below 16 points for three straight games. The team also got some help courtesy of Monty Brooks-follmer, who scored eight points.
Several Centurions players turned in solid performances despite ultimately coming up short. Perhaps the best among those players was Barrett Fries, who scored nine points along with six rebounds and two steals. Another player making a difference was Mason Gorecki, who scored seven points.
Cozad is on a roll lately: they've won six of their last seven games, which provided a nice bump to their 17-4 record this season. As for Centura, this is the second loss in a row for them and nudges their season record down to 4-15.
Both squads are looking forward to the support of their home crowds in their upcoming games. Cozad won't have much time to rest: their next game is against the Mavericks at 7:00 p.m. on February 6th. Hopefully Sandhills Valley focused on turnovers this week since the team gave up 16 last Friday. As for Centura, they won't have much time to rest: their next game is against the Cardinals at 8:00 p.m. on February 6th.
