Sidney Defeats Alliance, Scottsbluff To Capture Subdistrict Title

Sidney's Red Raider boys basketball team (17-7) traveled to Scottsbluff Tuesday for the first round of the B-8 Subdistrict basketball tournament. The game was originally scheduled for Monday, but was postponed due to weather, so the Red Raiders made the trip a day later to face the Alliance Bulldogs (13-9) for the second time in less than a week. Sidney's 51-38 victory set the stage for a finals matchup against the Scottsbluff Bearcats (18-7) on Wednesday in Scottsbluff. The teams had faced off three times this season, with the Scottsbluff winning the first two games, while Sidney earned the win in the third contest.

The Alliance Bulldogs were also a familiar foe, facing Sidney twice before this season and winning the first contest at Sidney, then losing the second at home in Alliance. While the first game was a close matchup that ended in a Bulldog victory by two points, the second was an 11 point victory for the Red Raiders. This Subdistrict tournament matchup would end up being an easy win for Sidney.

The game started in a familiar way, with Sidney quickly opening up a five point advantage, giving the Red Raiders momentum that led to a 12-7 score at the end of the first period, coincidentally the same first quarter score as in their last meeting with the Bulldogs. The Red Raiders extended their lead through the second period, and ended the half up 25-13 on the strength of senior Jake Burke's 12 points in the first two periods.

Sidney continued to pour it on in the second half, opening up the third quarter with an 11-3 run that put the Red Raiders in total command, leading to a 41-22 lead going into the fourth period. Alliance fought back in the fourth period, their defense finally containing the Sidney offense while the Bulldogs hit a trio of three-point shots, eventually narrowing Sidney's lead to nine. But time was against the Bulldogs, and they were forced to foul at the end of the game while Sidney was able to convert their free throw attempts and earn the victory. Sidney's Jake Burke led all scorers with 18 points on the night.

Wednesday's Subdistrict final game played out unlike the previous three meetings between the teams, with Sidney overcoming a 20 point deficit in the second half of the game to force overtime and eventually outlast the Bearcats 65-61 and take home the Subdistrict B8 championship. The Red Raiders will travel and face Omaha Roncalli Catholic on Saturday for the District Championship, one victory away from returning to the State Tournament for the third time in the last four years.

The matchup started out very tight, with both teams trading scores and the first period ended knotted in a 19-19 tie. But Scottsbluff seized the momentum offensively and was able to shut down Sidney's offense, outscoring the Red Raiders 17-5 in the second period giving a 36-24 lead to the Bearcats at the half. Scottsbluff came out of the break hot, scoring eight unanswered points to put Sidney in a 44-24 hole. With about three minutes left in the period and down 46-24, Sidney began their comeback, going on a 9-0 run to end the period, then continuing into the fourth with four more points to cut the lead to 46-39.

Sidney continued their run and eventually tied the game at 48 on an Arik Doty three-pointer with just under four minutes remaining in regulation. Sidney senior Mitch Porter then hit a three-pointer of his own to give Sidney the lead, 51-48. But the Bearcats fought back and tied the game, and Sidney had one last chance to score but were unable to get a shot off as time expired, sending the contest into overtime. The overtime period had both teams trading buckets until Sidney's Mitch Porter scored to put the Red Raiders ahead 60-58, then senior Connor Dormann put the game away with two free throws to extend the lead to four. Sidney had three players score in double figures, with junior Arik Doty leading the way with 18 points.