Sidney jumps on Gering early in 59-44 win

Fans expecting to see a close, gritty game for the third time against Gering this season instead got an offensive show.

Sidney (13-0) exploded out of the gate with a 19-point first quarter on Friday night and rolled to a 59-44 win against the Bulldogs. It was the Raiders' third win in three tries this season against the Bulldogs.

With the game knotted at 4-4, Sidney went on a 6-0 run to take the lead for good and outscored Gering 15-5 for the remainder of the opening quarter.

Back-to-back Zack Means buckets put Sidney up 8-4, and a pair of Tyler Wintholz free throws, his first two of a team-high 16 points on the night, extended the advantage to 10-4 with 3:53 left in the opening quarter.

Wintholz's putback layup made it a 12-6 game, and Brady Radcliffe's layup gave Sidney a 17-6 lead with 50 seconds on the first quarter clock. The Raiders led 19-9 after the opening frame.

The Bulldogs slowed things down and kept the game close in the second quarter, as the game went to the break with the homestanding Raiders up 27-18.

The Raiders extended their lead in the third quarter, starting with a 13-6 spurt that gave them a 40-24 lead with 2:46 left to go. Wintholz had eight points in the run that saw the home team extend its lead.

In the fourth quarter, Sidney stole the show. The Raiders opened on a 6-2 run, with two baskets from Ryan Birner and one from Mitch Porter, that put them up 48-31 and forced the Bulldogs to take a time out with 6:13 left in the game.

Gering responded with a 3-pointer just after the time out, but Sidney got those points back on a steal and coast-to-coast layup from Birner in which he was fouled. Birner also drained the foul shot, which put the Raiders up 51-34 with 5:26 remaining.

Sidney kept its offensive prowess up, getting a Jake Heeren trey with 4:56 left for a 20-point lead - at 54-34 - which was its biggest of the game to that point.

Sidney led 59-38 with 2:51 left when coach Erik Kohl pulled his starters out of the game, and the loud and boisterous crowd at Cabela's Activity Center gave the Raiders a standing ovation as they walked off the court.

On Saturday, the Raiders rolled to a 48-34 win at McCook.

Sidney is back in action this week with a pair of games. The Raiders travel to Ogallala on Friday, and return home Saturday to host Lexington.