Raiders pull away from Gering 75-64

Sidney broke open a close game in the second quarter on their way to a 75-64 win over the Gering Bulldogs Friday night at the Cabela's Athletic Facility.

The win advanced the Raiders record to 7-3 overall and 3-1 in the district. The Bulldogs District B6 mark slipped to 2-1 while dropping their overall to 9-3. For Sidney, the Gering game appeared the be the most challenging of a three-game stretch that included undefeated Kimball of Class C2 and district foe McCook.

The Raiders were spurred on to victory with the help of season high point totals from Lane Harvey (22) and Lucas Rosenbaum (17). Harvey, who injured his wrist against Kimball the night before, seemed no worse for the wear despite playing the game with a wrap.

"Maybe I should wear (the bandage) all the time," laughed Harvey. "I hit my first shot and I was just feeling smooth. I was in a really good rhythm."

While Harvey's outside touch was on, he did much of his damage while driving hard to the basket. Like Harvey, Rosenbaum was busy charging hard to through the lane to pick up most of his points.

"I'm getting more confident as the season goes along," Rosenbaum said. "We like to pass a lot but there were times when I like to take it to the hoop and be more aggressive."

After a closely contested first quarter which included three ties, Sidney began to take control during the second period. A spin-around layup by Logan Lewis and a driving layup by Harvey began a 9-2 run for the Raiders early in the second.

Grant Olsson was the only scorer for Gering during the stretch.

"We wanted to keep the ball out of Olsson's hands and much as possible," said Tyler Wintholz. "He's going to get his share of points but we just wanted to make sure we contested all his shots."

After the 9-2 run Gering's Austin Hoffman scooped in a two pointer before Sidney went on an 8-0 run. Wintholz scored the first 4 and Jake Sager and Cody Frerichs the final 4. The Frerichs hoop was aided by a nice cross-lane pass from Sager while Rosenbaum fed Sager's bucket.

Later in the second quarter Rosenbaum helped himself towards another two points after his hustle after a ball headed out of bounds kept alive a Raiders possession.

The final points of the half were preceded by a little entertainment from Harvey. For about 30 seconds the Raiders guard dribbled the ball around and through his legs while waiting for the final seconds to drain from the clock. When the time was right he he kept the rock for himself and popped in a two pointer just before the buzzer. After 16 minutes Sidney held a 39-29 lead.

The second half was greeted by five straight three pointers, three of which came from Sidney hands. Paxton Ehler, Harvey and Rosenbaum drained the Sidney threes while Joses Palomo swished two for the Bulldogs. The Raiders went on to add 6 more points to their lead in the third. The quarter ended with a competed three-point play by Sager and a driving layup by Harvey.

After closing out the third quarter in a 19-point hole at 59-40, the Bulldogs managed to reel the Raiders back in some in the fourth. But the Raiders were never in serious danger after their dominant second quarter.

Harvey and Rosenbaum led the Sidney scoring attack with 22 and 17 points respectively. Ehler popped in 13, Wintholz 12 and Sager seven.

Olsson led all scorers with 28.

Boys Basketball

Sidney 75

Gering 64

Friday