Red Raider boys open early lead, cruise to win

ALLIANCE – A fast start often times makes a big difference in a game.

The Sidney High boys’ basketball team got out of the gates quickly against host Alliance on Thursday night, en route to a 73-51 victory.

The Red Raiders opened up a 15-point lead by the intermission thanks to some great ball movement and pressure defense. They took advantage of numerous Alliance turnovers and cashed them in for points on the other end.

Sidney improved to 5-1, while the Bulldogs slipped to 1-5.

“We played great team offense, attacking and staying aggressive throughout the game,” said Sidney head coach Erik Kohl. “We were able to contest and limit Alliance to one-and-out possessions for the most part on defense.”

Tyler Wintholz led Sidney with 17 points and teammate Cutter O’Connell finished with 16 points and eight rebounds. Cody Frerichs added 11 points – including a trio of three-pointers – and Ryan Birner chipped in six points and seven reounds.

“Cutter was able to attack from the inside and outside, which helped spread the floor for our other players,” Kohl said. “Tyler puts so much pressure on opposing defenses as he is able to score and is an unselfish passer.

“Ryan gave us big minutes, being aggressive on the glass and giving us some offense as well,” he added. “It was a fun team win as everyone was involved in the win and was able to play.”

The Red Raiders led 14-8 after the opening quarter, but scored the first nine points of the second period – seven from Wintholz – to open up a 23-8 advantage.

Sidney played without 6-foot-, 7-inch center Jared Ross, who is sidelined with a concussion he sustained in last Saturday’s win over Sterling. He’s out at least until the Cabela’s Holiday Tournament on Jan. 2-3.

In the opening quarter, Jake Heeren – another one of Sidney’s inside forces and filling a role vacated by Ross – went out with a finger injury. The 6-4 Heeren missed the second quarter, but returned for the second half and finished with eight points besides playing some tenacious defense.

“Jake is tough,” Kohl said. “He dislocated his finger, popped it back into place, came back into the game. He put a physical stamp on the game.”

Sidney pushed its lead to as many as 23 points in the fourth quarter and got a chance to empty its bench and rest some of its starters. Freshman Jake Burke scored five points for the Red Raiders.

Senior Jordan Mills led Alliance with 29 points in the losing effort.

Sidney is back in action tonight, traveling to Fort Morgan (Colo.) to take on the Mustangs, who are 2-3 this season. Tip time is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.