COZAD – Aurora’s biggest lead in the boys C1-6 District Final was four points, while Sidney’s largest advantage was six points. When the dust cleared, the Red Raiders had a 34-31 win to qualify for their 41st state tournament.

Defense was the name of the game Tuesday in Cozad as Sidney and Aurora played for a state tournament berth. The two teams battled to a 9-9 draw after the first period of play. The Huskies began the second quarter with a 6-2 run to take their biggest lead at 15-11. Sidney closed the period on a 11-3 run to lead 22-18 at intermission.

The second half mirrored the first with neither team able to take control of the game. Aurora tied the game at 27 on a Chase Phillips free throw with 6:01 to go in the game. Sidney took a 29-27 lead and never trailed again, holding the Huskies scoreless the last forty seconds of the game to hang on for the three-point win.

Jeaden Dillehay paced the Red Raiders with 11 points while Jacob Dowse added 10 points. Aurora was led by Chaes Phillips and Carsen Staehr with eight points each.

Sidney enters next week’s state championships as the number six seed with a 19-6 record. The Red Raiders will face the number three seed, 24-2 Ashland-Greenwood, on Thursday, March 8th at 2:15 p.m. MT in the Devaney Sports Center.