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Raider boys thump Chadron 49-35

CHADRON – A two and a half hour bus ride turned into frustration Friday night, but it wasn’t the visiting Sidney High School team that let things get the better of them.

Rather, the Red Raiders tightened the screws on the host Chadron Cardinals in their own Bird Cage, rolling to an impressive 49-35 win – the identical score by which the Lady Cardinals turned on SHS in the girls’ nightcap.

Lane Harvey roamed the floor and scored a game-high 15 points, and the Raiders’ interior defenders limited 6-foot-7 Cardinals center Spencer Eliason to 11 points, six below his average.

“We talked about making it 32 minutes of pure frustrating basketball for Eliason,” SHS coach Erik Kohl said. “When he scored, it would be through multiple screens, or us not getting backside help. Every shot he made was a tough shot.”

Harvey, a sophomore, was the sparkplug for Sidney, as he elected to stray away from his long-range, 3-point shooting in favor of higher-percentage shots.

“Lane did a huge job of managing the game,” Kohl said. “He’d give us some ball reversals and then come off a screen and hit a jump shot. He made life miserable for guys trying to guard him.”

Once Sidney senior Casey Mabey buried a 3-point shot out front, the Raiders took a 7-4 lead midway through the first quarter, and never looked back. Harvey knocked down a basket that produced an 11-6 SHS lead at the first stop.

Chadron made a few mile rallies, the first coming on the first of four treys from sophomore Vonsinh Sayaloune, which trimmed the margin to 13-11. Sidney senior guard Sam Arterburn answered with a basket in the lane and a 3-pointer off the left wing, and Sidney began building its lead once more.

By halftime, the SHS advantage had mushroomed to 26-17. The second half saw the Raiders tinker with a double-digit lead, and the third frame ended on a nice turnaround jumper from Tyler Wintholz and a 37-25 Sidney command.

Eliason got going in the fourth period with three baskets, but Chadron got no closer than eight points down the stretch.

“Most of their shots were either challenged, or (Sayaloune) being wide open for a 3-pointer,” Kohl said.

Arterburn added 12 points and Mabey had 10 for Sidney, which was whistled for just seven personal fouls.

“We didn’t foul, which means we played well defensively,” Kohl said. “Our concept is one pass away and deny hard, and I think that got to (Chadron). We held them to less than 10 points in three of the four quarters we had three quarters 10 or less, and 11 in the other one. You do that, you’re going to win a lot of games. Chadron made us work for points tonight, too. We scored 49 points, but we didn’t have many break-away points.”

SHS hosts a strong Scottsbluff squad at 7 p.m. today. The Bearcats (12-3) are coming off a bruising loss last weekend to neighbor Gering.

“It will be another tough test,” Kohl said. “Scottsbluff will be ready after losing last weekend, but what I like about our team is our focus. We don’t get caught looking ahead.”

Sidney (11-5) has won six of seven outings since exiting its own Cabela’s Holiday Shootout with a 5-4 mark.

Sidney 49, Chadron 35

Sidney 11 15 11 12-49

Chadron 6 11 8 10-35

SIDNEY (11-5)

Harvey 7 1-2 15, Arterburn 4 3-4 12, Mabey 3 3-4 10, Wintholz 4 0-0 8, Lewis 1 0-0 2, Ehler 1 0-0 2. Totals 20 7-10 49

CHADRON (6-9)

Sayaloune 5 0-0 14, Eliason 5 1-5 11, Stein 2 0-2 4, Rayhill 1 0-0 2, Lordino 1 0-0 2, Westlane 1 0-0 2. Totals 15 1-7 35

3-point goals – Sidney 2 (Arterburn, Mabey), Chadron 4 (Sayaloune 4). Team fouls – Sidney 7, Chadron 14

 

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