Tight Swedes lose to Cozad 39-37.

Gothenburg’s matchup with the Cozad boys Thursday night on the basketball court had all the aspects anyone would expect from a long-standing rivalry.

The packed stands were charged with intensity, player aggression teetered on the edge of violence and victory hung in the balance right up to the final buzzer.

“It went just the way I was afraid it would go,” said Swede coach Roger Koehler.

The finish, though, was not what the coach wanted as Cozad scrapped its way to a 39-37 win.

“We didn’t play our style of ball,” Koehler said. “Instead of being aggressive and attacking like we’re used to, we played tight.”

It showed throughout as the Swedes struggled to score, shooting only 38% from the field, well below their 45% average on the season.

Gothenburg started slow giving Cozad a 4-0 lead before getting on the board with a bucket by Brett Dockweiler at the 4:42 mark in the first period.

The Swedes finished the quarter trailing 7-6.

Offensive production was better in the second quarter but the Swedes trailed the remainder of the game, down 20-17 at halftime and behind 35-25 heading into the final stanza.

“We never really found a good flow,” Koehler said. “In the first half, especially, we didn’t take good care of the ball and we didn’t do the things to be successful that we’ve been doing all year long.”

With 3:26 left in the game, Gothenburg fell behind 39-30 on back-to-back Cozad buckets by Nathan Bubak and Jacob Stallbaumer.

“We found a way to get back in it,” Koehler said, “but we didn’t capitalize on the opportunities we had to take the lead.”

With one minute remaining, the Swedes had pulled within two points at 39-37.

Gothenburg got off two more shot attempts after a timeout, neither of which was successful.

Instead, the Swedes put Cozad on the line for one-and-one three times in the final 27 seconds of the game.

All three times, Cozad missed the front end but Gothenburg couldn’t make anything happen offensively.

Logan Koehler led the Swedes in scoring with 13 points. He also pulled down eight rebounds.

Jacob Rush had 13 points including three three-pointers to lead Cozad while Stallbaumer added 10 points.

“You’ve got to give Cozad credit,” Koehler said. “They did what they needed to do. The guys would sure like another shot at them, though.”

Gothenburg’s only chance to see the Haymakers again would be if matchups align for another meeting during next week’s Southwest Conference tournament.