Raiders race past Central City in tourney opener

After a drive of more than five hours from Central City, the visiting Bison put up a brave front against the Sidney Red Raiders in the opening round of the Cabela's Holiday Shootout Thursday night. But in the end the Raiders asserted their dominance and pulled away in the late stages to earn a 68-53 win.

The Raiders secured their victory with a balanced scoring attack in which 10 Sidney players scored. Paxton Ehler and Logan Lewis did much of the damage, tallying 14 points apiece. Lane Harvey and Cutter O'Connell dropped in 9 each while Tyler Wintholz was good for 8. Lucas Rosenbaum (4), Jake Sager (4), Nick Castner (2), Jared Ross (2) and Cody Frerichs (2) also stretched the twine for Sidney.

Though Ehler started the Raiders off to a productive first quarter with a three-point play just 11 seconds into the contest, the game became a dogfight in the second quarter as the Bison shooters began to hit shots from the outside.

"They're a scrappy team. We knew they had good three-point shooters," said Harvey. "But we were determined to come out up tempo in the second half. We're a really fast team and we didn't think they would be able to keep up with us."

While ultimately Harvey proved prophetic, Sidney had its hands full holding back Central City in the second eight minutes. After the first period, the Raiders had gained a 17-11 advantage. That lead evaporated before the hosts could manage their first point of the second quarter. Andrew Lee was the spark for the Bison as he hit two threes in the opening minute of frame two. Lee's threes were punctuated by a Joe Hawthorne two pointer for an 8-0 run.

For a time during the second quarter Harvey kept the Raiders afloat as he proved to be a one-man offensive show. The Harvey run began when he sank a three pointer to end the Bison's opening run.

After City's Will Wagner answered Harvey's three with one of his own, the Raiders guard drew a foul on two successive drives to the hoop. His 3-4 stretch from the line kept Sidney above water at 23-22. Later in the quarter, a Wagner free throw gave the visitors another one-point lead. But it was their last.

"We left a lot of layups out there in the first half," said Lewis who scored many of his points by returning offensive rebounds back through the hoop. "That's my favorite. That's what I live for. I love putting those offensive rebounds back up."

Sidney finally put a stop to the Bison surge by scoring the final eight points of the second quarter. The end run was accomplished by four different scorers. Rosenbaum began by putting up a layup after perfect inside feed from Sager. Wintholz then drove in for two and Lewis followed with one of his favorites - a put-back layup. Sager returned another offensive rebound as the buzzer sounded.

A layup from Ehler and two from Wintholz sent Sidney on a 6-2 start to the second half. While Lee was again good for a three, O'Connell and Ehler out did him 4-to-1. Three of those Raiders treys were launched from the finger tips of O'Connell. From nearly the same spot on the floor each time, O'Connell scored nine points in a span of just over three minutes. When Lewis hit a buzzer beating put back Sidney held a 54-41 lead after three.

The Raiders put the game out of reach with a 10-2 stretch to open the final eight minutes. Four different sources--Lewis, Harvey, Rosenbaum and Cody Frerichs--accounted for the 10 Sidney points. The Rosenbaum duece came after his steal at center court left him a clear and uncontested path to the Sidney hoop.

"We pretty much took over in the second half so that's a good way to finish," said Wintholz.

The victory moves the Raiders into the winners bracket for a date with Laramie Friday at 7:15 p.m. at the high school. The Plainsmen earned their way with a 70-35 win over Hershey. Central City will meet the Panthers at the middle school at 7:15 p.m.

In the lower half of the bracket, Chase County downed Cheyenne South 44-36 while Gering dispatched Gothenburg 64-49. The Longhorns will square off with the Gering at the high school. Cheyenne South and Gothenburg will fight to stay another day in the middle school gym. Both contests are scheduled for 5:30 p.m.

Wintholz added that the team had a chance to view some film of Laramie before the tournament began. There a "Class A size school," he said that should be a good challenge for the Raiders second-round game.

Boys Basketball

Sidney 68

Central City 53