Sidney fends off hot-shooting Bearcats

Even when the Red Raiders held a convincing 48-30 lead midway through the third quarter over the dangerous Scottsbluff Bearcats, it didn't seem possible the hosts could be taken that easily. As it turns out they couldn't be.

Scottsbluff cranked up the heat in the second half, forcing the the Raiders into a donnybrook with their Class B6 rivals. Sidney managed to hold on for a hard fought 66-62 win in Scottsbluff on Saturday night.

Sidney advanced their record to 13-4, which includes wins in nine of their last 10. The Bearcats, meanwhile, slipped to 10-6.

Logan Lewis had his most productive offensive night of the season putting up 19 points despite being double-teamed by Scottsbluff's two big men. Landon Walker, a 6-8 freshman and Austin Clarkson a 6-6 sophomore, battled the likes of Lewis, Jake Sager and Nick Castner from start to finish.

Beyond the tall trees was a productive Raiders forest that included Lane Harvey, Paxton Ehler, Tyler Wintholz and Lucas Rosenbaum. Scottsbluff countered with hot shooting Jackson Hinze and Dru Kuxhausen.

"We have this mindset of not wanting to lose," said Harvey. "We knew it would be tough. Maybe we just wanted it a little more."

Midway through the final quarter the Raiders looked like they might run the Bearcats out of their own building. Harvey nailed a three for a 16-point Raiders lead with 5:23 left. Not long after Harvey struck, Ehler hit another from beyond the arc.

But that didn't scare Hinze. Before the third period expired he nailed three treys. Kuxhausen added another and what was once an 18-point Sidney advantage had been whittled down to 6 at 54-48.

Before the teams came out for the final quarter, Raiders Assistant Coach Chris Arent could probably be heard in the back row saying to the team, "This is our game!"

Turns out it was. But as every Raider surely understood, it wouldn't be easy. Several times the Bearcats managed to pare their deficit down to 3-points, but never more. Lewis scored the Raiders first 4 points in the final frame, yet Scottsbluff always had an answer.

When Hinze hit another three pointer with 4:35 left, the Bearcats narrowed the gap to three points (60-57) for the first time since the second quarter. Sager responded by dropping in a duece after a nice feed from Ehler. Clarkson then hit for Scottsbluff.

Three times over the final final minute the Raiders dropped in the front end of a one-and-one to keep Scottsbluff in need of multiple possessions for a lead or tie. First it was Harvey, then Ehler (who hit both ends) then Wintholz.

"That was huge," said Lewis who was proficient at the free-throw line all night. "Those free throws give us a little breathing room when they need two possessions to get back in it."

Sidney fought through the opening quarter from behind as the home team took a 17-15 advantage. But the first eight minutes was just the warm-up act.

The action became red hot in quarter number two when Sidney began to assert control. Ehler got it started with 5 straight points, including one from down town. Lewis then followed by returning his own miss through the iron to complete a 7-0 run.

"It was a statement game to every team in the state," said Ehler. "They are a great team and they can probably shoot as well as anybody in the state. No lead is ever safe against them. When they come back you get a little nervous. But you keep your head and never stop fighting."

The Raiders really put their hosts back on their heels when Harvey hit two threes in a 20-second span of the second quarter. When Lewis sank a pair of free throws 29 seconds later, Sidney had a 35-22 lead.

After Walker answered with a pair of freebies of his own, Harvey hit a buzzer beating three pointer. The halftime advantage for Sidney was 38-24.

"When I hit that first one it just gets me in the rhythm," said Harvey of his hot three-point shooting. "Once I hit that first one I just feel smooth."

Harvey nailed four three pointers on his way to 15 points on the night. Ehler had 13 points and Wintholz 11.

"This has always been my gym. I've never played bad here," said Lewis. "I'm not sure what it is. Maybe it's the atmosphere. It's always fun to play here. Their fans come out, our fans come out and it gets really loud."

The atmosphere should again be plenty loud next weekend. The Raiders have Gering on Friday night and Scottsbluff on Saturday. But the Raiders can't start thinking about the two district games before a road trip to Grant on Tuesday night. Sidney is expected to tip off against Perkins County at 6:30 p.m.

Boys Basketball

Sidney 66

Scottsbluff 62

Saturday