Serving proudly since 1873 as the beautiful Nebraska Panhandle's first newspaper
Serving proudly since 1873 as the beautiful Nebraska Panhandle's first newspaper
Lane Harvey (left) heads downcourt after stealing the basketball from Sterling’s Jay Kiel (right) in the closing seconds of Saturday’s 50-41 Red Raiders win at Cabela’s Athletic Facility.
Casey Mabey scores two of his 13 points Saturday night against Sterling, Colo.
On paper, Saturday evening’s assignment for the Sidney High School boys basketball team was something akin to David hooking up against Goliath.
And once more, the little guy won.
Reeling off a dozen points in the final minute, 43 seconds, the Raiders (10-6) were able to run away with a 50-41 victory against Sterling, Colo., at Cabela’s Athletic Facility.
Sidney’s guards — Paxton Ehler, Lane Harvey and Sam Arterburn — all made huge plays down the stretch after the Red Raiders had fallen behind, 39-38, with 2:53 remaining against a much, much taller Tigers squad.
That’s when Sidney kicked things in. Ehler assisted on a Casey Mabey basket, then following a Sterling miss, Ehler split the defense for a layup and subsequent three-point play at 1:07.
Sterling countered with its last score, but Arterburn made two free throws after knifing his way to the basket and being fouledl, for a 45-41 lead.
Harvey then promptly stole the basketball from Tigers guard ay Kiel, and drove the length of the court for a layup. Harvey later added a free throw and Mabey drained two of his own to end a rapidly played affair.
Sidney’s quick close provided a bookend to a blazing Raiders’ start. Erik Kohl’s club rattled off the game’s first 15 points, and appeared set to blow Sterling out of the gym. Mabey, Arterburn and Ehler all had treys during the opening salvo.
However, the Tigers used their height — four of the five Sterling starters stand between 6-foot-3 and 6-6 — to get back in the contest.
By halftime, Sidney led just 20-17.
“We knew they’d make a run despite the fact we came out so hot,” Kohl said. “This was a very good team we knocked off tonight.”
The teams swapped leads throughout the third quarter, which ended with SHS clinging to a 32-31 lead.
Ehler broke a 35-all tie with a 3-pointer off the right wing with 4:47 remaining, but Sterling’s James Skerjanec and 6-5 Lucas Lingreen replied with baskets to account for the Tigers’ last lead of the evening.
Sidney then got its transition game going, and took control of the issue.
“I liked the way we attacked the basket,” Kohl said. “All three of our guards got it done. Our keys tonight were pushing the ball, and rebounding
“Our guards did make them take some tough shots. We made some great defensive plays and made our foul shots when we had to.
“All in all, it was good to have two straight days of solid basketball,” Kohl said, mixing in Friday’s win at Bridgeport.
Sidney hits the road Friday for a matchup with Chadron.
SHS 50, Sterling, Colo. 41
Sterling 5 12 14 10—41
SHS 15 5 12 18—50
STERLING (7-3)
Rose 1 0-0 2, Kiel 3 0-2 8, Carey 2 2-5 7, Sanger 6 0-0 13, Lingreen 2 2-2 6, McNear 1 1-2 3, Skerjanec 1 0-0 2. Totals 16 5-11 41
SHS (10-6)
Mabey 5 2-2 13, Harvey 3 1-3 8, Vowers 1 0-0 3, Ehler 6 1-1 16, Arterburn 2 2-2 8, Rosenbaum 1 0-0 2. Totals 18 6-8 50
3-point goals — Sterling 4 (Kiel 2, Carey, Sanger). SHS 8 (Ehler 3, Arterburn 2, Mabey, Harvey, Vowers). Team fouls — Sterling 13, SHS 10. Fouled out — Kiel.
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