Serving proudly since 1873 as the beautiful Nebraska Panhandle's first newspaper
There are times in any sport when you just have to tip your hat to a great performance.
After Logan Lewis converted on Paxton Ehler’s feed for a clutch bucket and a 1-point Sidney lead with about 16 seconds to go, it looked as though the Raiders were poised to steal a victory in Gering’s own building.
But the Bulldogs’ Joses Palomo had other ideas.
The Raiders ultimately finished on the wrong side of a 71-69 score between two of Class B’s top teams.
After the Lewis score, the few seconds that remained must have seemed like an eternity to the Raiders defenders. But they did about everything a team could to prevent a miracle shot. They cloaked the Bulldogs with intense pressure, forcing the hosts to struggle setting up a final shot.
Just when it looked absolutely impossible, the impossible happened.
With Lewis on Polomo like a blanket, his hand waving in the shooter’s face, the Gering guard may not even have been able to see the target. Pehaps it was instinct that took over. Palomo responded to the chants of “shoot!” from the crowd and threw up a high archer with a fade-away motion.
Had the sound of the buzzer and crowd not been so loud, nylon netting was all anybody would have heard.
“I never saw that kid miss a buzzer beater,” said Lewis. “I was all over him and he still hit it. He’s just a great player.”
Despite the loss, Sidney again proved their ability to handle pressure situations late in the game. The Raiders were down by as much as 9 points in the final quarter but continued to fight through every possession.
Lane Harvey drained a three pointer to begin the Raiders excavation from the hole, but it was a slow process.
While Gering punched, Sidney counterpunched. Halfway through the final period, Gering still held an 8-point lead at 68-60. Not until Ehler and Harvey completed a pair of unanswered driving layups did the Sidney faithful truly have something to get excited about.
At 68-64 the room got even more intense.
“We expected to make a run, we always knew we had a chance to pull it out,” said Harvey.
Gering followed the Harvey and Ehler drives with a missed free-throw with 1:29 left. Though the ‘Dogs got the rebound, an opportunistic Ehler made a swipe and came up with a steal. Seconds later he completed a court-length drive for two more points and a now razor slim 68-67 Gering lead. It was just under a minute later that Ehler fed Lewis for the go-ahead bucket - and Palomo’s dramatic answer.
“I’ve been playing against (Palomo) since I was in the fourth grade and I’ve seen him do that three or four times,” said Harvey. “It was a great game. But we have to get over it tonight and be ready for Scottsbluff tomorrow.”
The competitive end was foreshadowed by a three quarters played with high intensity throughout.
Palomo hit his first three in the opening period, which gave the home team a 10-4 edge. Ehler followed later in the period with two treys of his own to help the Raiders gain a 15-14 lead after eight minutes.
Cutter O’Connell and Harvey opened the second quarter with threes to give Sidney the largest lead they would hold all game, at 21-14.
Though O’Connell hit another three and Ehler tacked one on in the second, Gering responded with a 26-point quarter to turn a 7-point deficit into a 7-point lead.
The Bulldogs were up 40-33 at the half.
In the third quarter Harvey swished another pair from beyond the bend and Ehler drained one, as well. But after 24 minutes, Sidney only managed to shave a single point from the halftime deficit and trailed 58-52.
Ehler led the Raiders with 21 points while Harvey added 14 and Lewis 12.
Tyler Wintholz, Lucas Rosenbaum and O’Connell all scored 6 points on the night.
Before the game started Sidney and Gering were tied for sixth in the NSAA points race while Scottsbluff held down the fifth position. At the conclusion of the weekend of play, which included the Raiders victory over the Bearcats on Saturday, Gering now holds down fifth place.
Sidney remains in sixth while Scottsbluff slipped back to eighth on the ledger.
Sidney makes the long trip to Chadron on Friday night to take on the Cardinals at 7 p.m.
Boys Basketball
Gering 71
Sidney 69
Friday
Reader Comments(0)