Raiders End Regular Season With Wins

Sidney’s Red Raiders boys basketball squad finished up their regular season schedule with a pair of wins against Chadron and Alliance on the road.

Sidney (16-7, 6-2 in district) was able to beat the Chadron Cardinals (8-12, 2-5 in district) for the second time this season in a game that was rescheduled due to weather, and was able to pay back Alliance by defeating the Bulldogs (13-9, 3-3 in district) at their home as the Bulldogs did to the Red Raiders earlier in the season. The victories set up Sidney to face Alliance in the opening game of the Subdistrict tournament, scheduled to start on Tuesday Feb 20.

Sidney first faced Chadron on Feb 15th at Chadron, and the game played similarly as their previous encounter back at the end of January. A very close game, with one quarter that ended up deciding the outcome. The first half had both teams battling back and forth for the lead, with the Cardinals coming out on top at the half, 18-17. But after the intermission, the Red Raiders were able to outscore the Cardinals 18-14 in the third quarter, which proved to be the difference in the game. A tight defensive struggle marked the fourth period, with Sidney putting up nine points to the home team’s eight, giving Sidney the 44-40 victory.

The following night had Sidney taking a long trip to play for the second night in a row, this time to face the Alliance Bulldogs. The Red Raiders came out fast with a 10-0 run in the first period, but Alliance was able to battle back with seven points of their own to end the first period 12-7 in favor of Sidney. The second period continued similarly, with both teams trading buckets but Sidney able to keep ahead of the Bulldogs ending the half ahead 22-16.

The third period had both teams matching each others scores through the entirety of the period, and ended with both teams putting up 13 points, giving the lead to Sidney 35-29 going into the fourth. The fourth quarter was filled with scoring, as Alliance banged down five three pointers only to be countered by Sidney with four three pointers of their own.

The high scoring period wound down to the final seconds, with Alliance sending the Red Raiders to the free throw line hoping to claw back into the game at the end. But the Red Raiders were sharp at the free throw line, and were able to put the game away by a final score of 67-56. Senior Jake Burke led the scoring for Sidney with 17 points on the night. Sidney was scheduled to face Alliance again on Tuesday.