Geared up for Gering: Sidney reaches Cabela's championship game after defeating Laramie, 56-42

When the Sidney Red Raiders boys' basketball squad step onto the court to face Gering in the championship match of the 2015 Cabela's Holiday Shootout, there will likely be only one goal in mind – utilize teamwork and get the win over the Bulldogs.

Sidney found itself in this position on Tuesday night after beating the Laramie (Wyo.) Plainsmen, 56-42, in a game that featured extremely physical play from both teams.

Gering advanced after narrowly edging Wheatland (Wyo.), 39-35, in a game that came down to the wire for both teams.

Sidney 56, Laramie 42

The Red Raiders won out against Laramie in the end thanks to three players – Tyler Wintholz, Cutter O'Connell and Mitch Porter – scoring in double digits and the team shooting 65 percent (11-17) from the line.

Another key for Sidney was shutting down the game of Laramie's top point guard, Jake Aadland. The senior put up 24 points during the game, which included a three-pointer and a 7-of-7 showing from the line.

As one of the rainmakers for Sidney on offense and defense, Wiltholz said Aadland was definitely on the radar of head coach Erik Kohl and the rest of the squad.

"Coming into the game, after watching them play (Monday), we knew they kind of had a weak middle when it came to the zone, so shutting that down and focusing on (Aadland) were very important to the win."

Wiltholz finished the game with 16 points and 12 rebounds for his third double-double of the season. He was also 2-of-3 from the line.

When it came to the aggressive nature of the game, Porter, who had 11 points and five grabs under the basket, echoed the sentiment of equaling the energy of Laramie and stopping Aadland as most important.

"It was a lot of push and shove out there tonight, especially with Aadland, so we just play our type of basketball and shut them down, which I think we did," Porter said.

For his part, O'Connell logged another of his seemingly ubiquitous double-doubles as he scored 15 points and took 12 rebounds, all while blasting a perfect 4-of-4 from foul territory.

Other scorers in the game were: Brady Radcliffe (5), Ryan Birner (4), Yeager Price (3) and Zack Means (2).The Red Raiders will tip-off against Gering at 3:15 p.m. today at the Sidney High School gym.

Kohl: Geared up for Gering

The last time Sidney played Gering was at the Western Conference Tournament on Dec. 4 in a game marked by an exceedingly high level of athleticism and aggression. The Red Raiders walked away with a 64-59 victory that propelled them to the tournament championship match against past Colorado 5A state champion Greeley West.

Sidney trailed in the third against Gering. It was at that point that O'Connell, who said he got "a little mad" during the period, rose to the occasion with Wintholz as the pair combined for 30 points to secure the win.

This time around, Kohl said he is working with his team on the essentials of scoring, preventing mismatches from hurting the offensive set and limiting the outside shot of the Bulldogs.

"They are a really good guard team, so we have to contest shots and win on the boards," Kohl said. "They present us with some tough challenges on the matches so we have to defend better than last time."

Kohl also said the three-pointers scored by Gering at the WCT – 10 of them during the game – were a huge factor that has to be dealt with.

"Last time they had those 10 and we have to keep that in single digits if we're going to be successful," Kohl added. "We have to limit those makes for them."

One card up Sidney's sleeve, according to Kohl, is the size advantage of his players.

"We have to use that advantage to our favor because they shift defenses a lot from man to zone, so we have to make sure we get the ball inside and attack them for 32 minutes," Kohl said.