Red Raiders drop a pair of weekend road games

The Sidney Red Raiders led for most of the first half Friday night at Gering before falling short in a 56-50 loss to the Bulldogs. Saturday’s matchup against Class B #3 Scottsbluff didn’t go quite as well for the 2-18 Raiders as the Bearcats ran away for an 82-38 win.

The last time Sidney faced Gering, the Bulldogs walloped the Raiders at the Cabela’s Athletic Facility 70-37. Friday’s matchup on Gering’s home floor was a different story. Sidney showed good patience against an active Bulldog zone defense and led 12-11 after the first period. The Red Raiders played under control throughout the first half, trailing 28-23 at intermission.

Sophomore Sawyer Dickman’s 9 third quarter points sparked the Raider offense to cut the Gering lead to 41-37 heading into the final period. Dylan Gunkel, Nolan Stoll and Eli Ahrens all fouled out of the ballgame in the fourth period, as Gering made 9 of 10 free-throws in the quarter to secure the 56-50 win.

On Saturday, coming off a positive performance against Gering, the Red Raiders hoped to ride the momentum into the game at Scottsbluff. But the Bearcats’ size and experience proved to be too tall a task for the Raiders. Skyler Heineman kept Sidney in the game early with 9 first quarter points, but Bearcats quickly turned a 18-11 first quarter lead into a 48-26 halftime advantage.

Scottsbluff continued to pull away from the Raiders in the second half, initiating the 40-point running clock rule with less than a minute to go in the third period.

The Bearcats finished the game with 5 players in double figures led by Jasiya DeOllos’ 19 points. Skyler Heineman led the Red Raiders with 15 points.