Red Raiders cruise to another easy victory

Once Tyler Wintholz opened Tuesday night’s game against Perkins County on a personal six-point run, the Sidney Red Raiders boys’ basketball team never looked back on its way to an 11th straight victory.

The Raiders advanced their record to 16-2 with a 78-26 whitewash of the Plainsmen (8-9) at the Cabela’s Athletic Facility. It was the second straight game Sidney finished a game against a Class C2 opponent with a running clock. By Nebraska rule, the clock doesn’t stop once the differential reaches 40 points.

The Raiders are now in the midst of a nine-day span in which they play five games. While three of those contests are now successfully behind them, the biggest tests are yet to come. Sidney will host district-rival Gering on Friday and will travel to Scottsbluff on Saturday night.

Jared Ross and Cutter O’Connell picked up where Wintholz left off as the Raiders jumped out to a 10-0 lead before the Plainsmen recorded their first points from the floor. But Brady Radcliffe’s 3-pointer initiated a 13-0 run that brought the score to 23-2. By the end of the first eight minutes, Sidney led 25-6.

“We kind of used tonight as a kind of conditioner,” Wintholz said. “We want to keep getting better all the time and improve our team play so that we’re at our best when it matters most.”

Though the Plainsmen found some confidence early in the second period by scoring the first six points, Sidney quickly put out the fire with six of their own. At one point in the quarter, a turn-around jumper by Perkins County’s 6-8 center Zak Kurkowski was all that interrupted a 15-2 Sidney outburst. The Plainsmen recovered late in the period, but still trailed 44-18 at the half.

“We wanted to come out here and take care of business,” said Sidney guard Lane Harvey. “We didn’t want to look past these guys. For us it’s just one game at a time. Now we can start thinking about Gering.”

At one point in the third quarter, the Raiders scored nine straight with Ross beginning the run and Harvey finishing it. A long pass from Jake Heeren to O’Connell provided the highlight of the Sidney burst. By the end of 24 minutes, the Raiders had staked themselves to a 43-point lead at 65-22.

With the clock running throughout the final quarter, Sidney added nine more points to its advantage. A quick strike-pass from O’Connell to Ross opened the period. Hayden Graham concluded the scoring with a mid-range jumper.

Wintholz led the Raiders in scoring for the third straight game with 18 points. O’Connell and Ross also reached double figures with 13 and 12 respectively. Heeren added eight while Harvey and Cody Frerichs scored seven apiece.

Sidney is slated to get going against Gering on Friday at 7 p.m. with the game at Scottsbluff also scheduled for 7.