Sidney Boys 1-1 In Weekend Action / Lady Raiders defeat Lexington

Sidney's Red Raiders hosted the Lexington Minutemen Saturday in non-conference matchups which culminated in a thrilling overtime finish for the boy's teams. The action started with the Lady Raiders taking on the visiting Minutemaids and Sidney quickly established it was to be their day on the hardwood.

Aggressive defense creating turnovers and poor shot selections combined with a strong outside shooting were the formula for victory the Lady Raiders have relied on for success all season.

The Minutemaids could not handle the Lady Raiders sharp offense as they responded to every Lexington challenge and pulled away for an easy victory. An all-around team effort, Sidney's girls showed their balance and ability to adjust to whatever the Minutemaids tried to stop the Lady Raiders attack. However, the relative ease the Lady Raiders had winning their game was in sharp contrast to the boys matchup later in the day.

Lexington's Minute-men came out strong, challenging the Red Raiders from the start with strong defense and quick scoring. By the end of the first period, the Raiders were in a 20-13 hole, but coach Austin Lewis made some adjustments that had the boys leading the visitors 31-30 at the half.

The second half was a battle, with both teams fighting hard for an advantage that never materialized.

By the end of regulation, the score was knotted at 62, and a 4 minute overtime period would decide the outcome. In the extra period, Sidney had two possessions at the start that brought no points, and Lexington scored on their first two possessions, which was ultimately the difference in the game. The Minutemen scored eight in the final four minutes to Sidney's three, resulting in a 70-65 loss for the Red Raiders.

"I didn't feel we were fatigued in the overtime, just those two empty possessions at the start were costly", said Sidney head coach Austin Lewis.

He added, "Lexington is just a physical team that made a couple more baskets then we did tonight. Games like this are where you grow, so we hope to use it as motivation and keep moving forward."

With the loss, the boy's squad record fell to 10-5.