Serving proudly since 1873 as the beautiful Nebraska Panhandle's first newspaper
Serving proudly since 1873 as the beautiful Nebraska Panhandle's first newspaper
It didn’t help matters when an injury plagued Sidney Red Raider squad drew powerhouse Scottsbluff in the opening round of the Western Conference Tournament on Thursday, and the depleted Sidney squad was quickly overwhelmed by the fast and talented Bearcats on their way to a 69-to-28 opening round loss against the Bearcats.
However, the young squad started to settle in a find their rhythm in their next game, and outscored the Gering Bulldogs 17-to-14 in the first quarter of Friday’s matchup.
The Red Raiders battled throughout the next two quarters to stay close, but could not keep up with Gering in the end, getting outscored 21-to-11 in the final quarter to fall by a final score of 67-to-56.
In the last game of the tournament, Chadron was able to survive against the Red Raiders on the strength of a lead built in the first quarter.
The Red Raiders again found their groove and matched the Cardinals in the last three quarters, but the early lead was too much to overcome and Sidney fell by a final score of 64-to-59.
Three losses to start the season is not the way the Red Raiders wanted to open, but head coch Austin Lewis noted the positives, saying, “We had a tough draw to start the tournament going against Scottsbluff, one of the best teams in the area this year, but we did improve our play as the tournament went on. We have a lot of younger players and they started to get more comfortable with the pace of play as we progressed. Skylar Heineman had a great tournament, averaging 22 points through the three games for us.”
With injuries to seniors like Eli Ahrens hobbling the team, Lewis does not expect the squad to be at full strength until after Christmas. Sidney has its home opener on Friday against the Chase County
Longhorns at the Cabela’s Athletic Center in Sidney High School.
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