Sidney cruises to 60-20 victory

KIMBALL – With games coming up on consecutive nights against a pair of district rivals, it would have been easy for the Sidney High boys’ basketball team to look past the Kimball Longhorns.

But Sidney emerged from the visitors locker room with a unified message: Good teams beat the teams they are supposed to. And the Red Raiders did so in convincing fashion with a 60-20 win over the Longhorns of District C2-12.

“Sure, looking past a team you’re supposed to beat is something we have to worry about,” said Sidney head coach Erik Kohl. “But if we consider ourselves a good team you have to be ready to play every night.”

Sidney (8-2, 1-1) had a balanced scoring attack with Jared Ross leading the way with 12 points and Tyler Wintholz with 11. Cutter O’Connell and Ryan Birner had eight and seven points respectively. No Longhorns’ player managed to stretch the twine for more than four points (Jonathon Withrow, Colton Stull and Michael Ferguson).

The Raiders quickly erased any mild concerns Kohl may have had when they jumped on Kimball right from the start. With contributions from Wintholz, Birner, O’Connell and a trey from Brady Radcliffe, Sidney quickly established a 12-0 lead. Ethan Land managed the only bucket for Kimball in the opening eight minutes to leave the Longhorns in a 15-2 hole.

“We all talked about it,” Jake Heeren said. “If we think we’re a good team we have to make sure to win the games we’re expected to win. We came out ready to play right away tonight.”

With Kohl mixing in different player combinations throughout the game, every player that dressed for Sidney saw some action. Ten players scored for the Raiders.

The Raiders didn’t let up over the second eight minutes. They had their most productive offensive quarter with 20 points. Ross got it rolling when he scored Sidney’s first five points of the frame – including the completion of a three-point play. The Raiders concluded the frame on an 11-0 run punctuated by a deft-reverse layup by Heeren.

The third quarter was competitive, with the Raiders holding a 13-12 edge. But Sidney held Kimball to just a single point over the final eight minutes.

The Raiders are on the road tonight when they face district rival Gering (6-3) at 7 p.m.