A DYNAMIC DUO

The senior duo of Cutter O'Connell and Tyler Wintholz came up big for Sidney once again in two weekend wins.

The Red Raiders improved to 5-0 after wins over Chase County and Sterling, Colo., as O'Connell and Wintholz played key roles.

The weekend was also a chance at redemption; the Raiders basketball squad had not won a game while playing in Colorado since Sidney resumed playing teams there during the 2010-11 season. That changed when the Raiders outlasted No. 4 ranked Sterling, 53-42, on Saturday.

Sidney 67, Chase County 35

During Friday's 67-35 win over Chase County, O'Connell led the team effort with 22 points and grabbed seven rebounds. O'Connell's biggest contribution in the game, aside from two booming three-pointers, was a relentless offensive push in the first half that netted six consecutive baskets.

Wintholz was no slouch during the game, either; the 6-foot-4-inch forward was a defensive powerhouse against the Longhorns and dropped 8 points, all while earning four rebounds.

The combined effort, totaling 30 points and 11 rebounds, added a sheen to the 10-point performance of fellow senior Ryan Birner, which came on a perfect 2-for-2 showing from the line and four deuces. Brady Radcliffe, another senior for the Raiders, also added eight points off a pair of three-pointers and a bucket.

Defensively, Zack Means was a force to be reckoned with as he corralled nine rebounds and dealt a few blows to the inside shooters of Chase County, drawing four fouls in the game.

The game against Chase County was most notable for the high level of energy and scoring in the first half with the five starters – O'Connell, Wintholz, Birner, Radcliffe and Means – working together on fast breaks and tough play from both the outside and in the key.

The energy also remained in the later minutes as Sidney head coach Erik Kohl rotated every other player on the bench in at least one quarter in the second half.

Mitch Porter, a sophomore, was one of those rotated in by Kohl. After the game, he said the starters got the Raiders where they needed to be, though the underclassmen made a huge contribution in later minutes.

"Our big challenge was getting the ball on rebounds against (Chase County) and playing a physical type of basketball, with the five establishing that in the first half," Porter said. "We really took it to them in the second half when the younger guys started coming into the game. We kept it up and everyone saw the results."

Other scorers against Chase County were: Means (6), Porter (6), Yeager Price (3), Jon Smith (2) and Seth Trost (2).

Sidney 53, Sterling 42

With the knowledge that no current-era Sidney basketball team had won a game in Colorado, Kohl told his team to be ready for the Sterling Tigers, a team ranked fourth in the state with a perfect 3-0 record.

In the end, Sidney took care of business and walked away perfect at 5-0 after the 53-42 win.

Though he was stymied only slightly by an aggressive Tiger defense, O'Connell led Sidney once again with 14 points, which included a three-pointer with one second to go in the first period, another trey in the fourth period and a perfect 4-for-4 showing from the line late in the game. He also snagged seven rebounds.

Radcliffe added nine points and was perfect throughout the game from the line, making four and also dropping a three-pointer and a bucket. Porter also penciled in nine points off two treys, a bucket and a 1-of-2 from the line.

In an effort to stop the fast break and inside game of the Tigers, Witholz and Birner took a page from Means' defensive performance against Chase County and each drew four fouls under the basket.

Wintholz was defended well by the Tigers as he was held to seven points off three goals and a free throw, though he excelled at dishing the ball to O'Connell and Porter all night and had six assists.

After taking the win, Birner, who finished with five points, said the key to winning was containing the aggressive, run-it-up-the-floor transition game Sterling is noted for.

"The one thing Sterling does very well is transition the floor, but we stopped that dead, so they got almost zero points on their transition game," Birner said. "That got them stuck in half-court offense for the whole game."

Other scorers against Sterling were: Porter (9), Means (6) and Price (3).

Next up, Sidney will play a two-game homestand as the Raiders host Fort Morgan, Colo., on Friday and Alliance on Saturday.