COZAD- The Haymaker basketball teams would face a tough test over the weekend, starting on Friday as they would take on Central City.

 On the girls’ side, the Haymakers and Bison would trade blows back and forth, never really taking control of the game, but the Haymakers would use their first half lead to their advantage to beat the Bison 30-27.

 The game was a very low scoring affair, as Cozad would only lead after one quarter 6-3. The girls’ would get the offense going a little better in the second and would go into halftime with an 18-12 lead.

 However, the offense would be at a standstill for the third quarter once again, with Cozad only putting up two points, letting Central City come back and tie the game up at 20-20 going into the final quarter.

 Cozad ultimately would outlast Central City, outscoring them 10-7 in the final quarter, to slide by with the narrow victory.

 “It was pretty much a slugfest,” head coach Will Reutzel said. “I thought that girls did a great job of adjusting throughout the game adjusting offensively and defensively to what we were trying to do.”

 Carlie Pinkelman would lead the Makers with 14 points. Carly Henry would chip in with 12 points. Kendra Harbison and Jessica Finnegan would each have two points.

 For Central City, Lexi Malm would lead all scorers on the night as she would have 16 points on the night.

 With the win, Cozad improved to 3-4 on the season, after defeating McCook on Dec. 15. Central City falls to 1-5.

 On the boys’ side, it was starting to look like a great game in the making, but one player got hot and the Haymaker boys would suffer a crushing defeat.

 The Cozad boys would struggle getting the baskets going as they were trampled by the Bison 67-42.

 The Cozad boys would start off on the right foot, taking an early lead 11-9 after one quarter of play.

 The game would stay relatively close in the second quarter, with Central City pulling out in front, but only leading 24-22 going into the locker room.

The second half is where the rout would begin.

 Central City would have a huge second half as they outscored the Makers 22-10 in the third and 21-10 in the fourth to run away with the win.

 For Cozad, Jordan Hickenbottom would lead the team with a season-high 20 points. Hickenbottom would also tack on another double-double to his successful season as he grabbed 13 rebounds. Mason Fischer and Evan Worrell would be shut down by the Bison defense as Fischer would score seven and Worrell would only have five points.

 The star of the game would be Central City’s Ben Clausen, as he would score 33 points in the Bison’s victory.

 “I was pleased with the effort once again,” head coach Scott Foster said. “Unfortunately one of our poorer shooting nights. We were unable to answer when they started their run. However, we learn from it and move on.”

 For their second game over the weekend, the Haymakers would make a trip down to Oxford as they took on Southern Valley.

 The girls could not cut into the lead that the Eagles’ had all night, as they would defeat Cozad 55-44.

 Carlie Pinkelman once again would the team as she had 13 points for the game. Kendra Harbison and Carly Henry would both contribute as Harbison would have 11 points and Henry would chip in 10 points.

 “We came up a little short, but I was happy with the girls’ effort,” Reutzel said. “We tried a couple of things on defense that worked to a degree and had times that we did some good things offensively.  I really felt that we challenged the Eagles, we were right there the entire game and just couldn’t cut the lead in the last couple of minutes.”

 The loss dropped the Lady Makers to 3-5 on the season while Southern Valley improved to 5-1.

 On the boys’ side, they would look to rebound after a gut-wrenching loss at home.

 Once again, the boys’ could not take advantage in the final frame, losing to the Eagles 56-48.

 Southern Valley would use a good first half to lead 28-20. However, the Haymakers would have a huge third quarter, outscoring the Eagles 16-8 to even the game up at 36 going into the final quarter.

 Southern Valley would step on the gas, pulling away from Cozad to squeak out a victory.

 Mason Fischer would lead the Makers with 17 points and Jon Kuklis would get 10 points. Fischer would also have eight steals on the night, which is a season high for Fischer.

 “This is a very tough loss to take.” Foster said. “I really believe we were the better team. They hit shots at key times and we just once again didn’t answer in the end. We have to do a better job and that starts with coaching. So, we go back to work and get better. We aren’t anywhere near the team we want to be by the end of the year. I can’t fault the team’s effort again, we just couldn’t get the shots to fall when we need them.”

 With the loss, Cozad drops to 2-5 on the year, with Southern Valley improving to 2-4.

 The Haymaker teams will travel to Sandy Creek for the Sandy Creek Holiday Tournament over Christmas Break. The tournament will take place Dec. 29 and 30.

• Cozad Boys Basketball
• Cozad Girls Basketball
• Cozad Haymakers

Support your favorite teams and athletes by leaving a comment below