Red Raiders Open at WCT

Sidney’s Red Raider Basketball teams started off the 2020-21 season with their traditional opening at the Western Conference Tournament in Scottsbluff and Gering high schools, and the boys team scratched out a win while the girls went 2-and-1 overall.

With limited fans due to enhanced COVID-19 restrictions, the teams started on Thursday evening with the boys facing off against eventual tournament champion Alliance, and the Bulldogs jumped on the Raiders quickly, pulling away to a 13-to-0 lead before Sidney junior Sawyer Dickman finally put Sidney on the scoreboard.

Led by 6’5” senior Caeson Clark, the Bulldog’s strong opening built a comfortable 36-to-24 halftime lead.

Sidney was able to settle down after the initial Bulldog run and keep pace,  but the deficit was too much for Head Coach Austin Lewis’ young squad to overcome,  and they dropped the opening game of the tournament 60-to-45. Dickman and sophomore Micah Schneider both had good offensive games, scoring 19 and 12 points respectively.

As the Red Raiders played, the Lady Raiders were locked in a battle with the Gering Lady Bulldogs, and the Lady Raiders had to come back in the final minutes to earn the win. Gering was able to come back from a 28-to-23 deficit at halftime to take a lead, but a strong finish by Sidney ended the game in a 55-to-52 victory.

The Lady Raiders went on to face the Chadron Lady Cardinals in the semifinal game on Friday, and after scoring the first five points of the game, the Lady Cardinals never trailed on their way to a 44-to-30 victory.

Along with the slow start, cold shooting and turnovers plagued the Lady Raiders all game, although the defense was outstanding and aggressive, giving Sidney many opportunities that just weren’t converted for points. Senior Karly Sylvester led the scoring for Sidney with 12 points while senior Anika Burke led Gering with 19 points.

The boys team matched up with the Chadron Cardinals on Friday, and played very well, moving the ball on offensive and generating turnovers on defense. After leading 24-to-20 at halftime, Chadron fought back and eventually took a lead in the fourth quarter. The Cardinals were able to pull away as the Red Raider offense stalled late in the game, and took the victory over Sidney 47-to-40.

On Saturday, the boys team finished up with Gering, and again a slow start had Sidney down 18-to-12 at the end of the first quarter. But in this game, Sidney was able to find an offensive groove in the second quarter, led by senior Dylan Gunkel’s eight points in the period giving the Red Raiders a six point lead at the intermission. Junior Sawyer Dickman put up 11 points in the third quarter and Sidney held off the Bulldogs to earn the 58-to-49 win. Dickman led the Sidney scoring with 21 points and senior Zack Burke added 13 points in the victory.

On Saturday morning, the Lady Raiders finished up against a depleted Alliance Lady Bulldog team, and fired off 29 straight points before Alliance finally scored their only two points of the game. The Lady Raiders finished with a 54-to-2 win, but it only earned them fifth place in the tournament due to bracket restrictions preventing teams facing each other twice.

Both teams are back in action on Friday as the travel to Imperial to take on the Chase County Longhorns.