Red Raiders Split Weekend Games for First Loss
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The Sidney scored over 60 percent of their points in the paint and held Gothenburg to just 39 percent shooting from the field in a hard-fought 46-44 win over the Swedes Friday night at the Cabela’s Athletic Facility. The Red Raiders then battled an excess of foul problems on the road Saturday at Colorado Class 3A number 2 Yuma, suffering their first loss of the season 67-62 to the Outlaws.
Friday’s game against Gothenburg presented a difficult challenge for the Red Raiders. The Swedes athletic lineup averaged 6’3” tall and played a suffocating zone defense. Sidney displayed enormous patience on offense and held the lead most of the first half.
The Red Raiders biggest lead came on a 5-0 run to open the second half, pushing their lead to 28-18 at 6:25 of the third period. However, a 13-4 Gothenburg run closed the gap to one point with nine seconds left in the quarter. A deep last-second one-handed toss by Isak Doty at the buzzer gave Sidney a 35-31 lead heading into the final period.
Although the Red Raiders never trailed after halftime, Gothenburg did not go away tying the game at 44-44 with 29 seconds to play. Alek Doty drove to the basket and was fouled with 5.9 seconds to go, and the sophomore calmly made both free throws to give Sidney the win.
Keian Kaiser led the Red Raiders with 15 points and a team-high nine rebounds. Isak Doty, who had been ill all week, made five of his six shots including three of four from behind the arc, for 13 points.
On Saturday, Sidney faced an entirely different tempo. A very quick Yuma team scrapped on defense and pushed the tempo at every opportunity on offense. The combination proved difficult for the Red Raiders as the fouls started to mount early. Landon Riddle and Luke Uhlir each spent time on the bench in the first half. With under three minutes to go in the third quarter, Sidney had as many as four starters on the bench at one time with four fouls. Senior Cole Handley, sophomores Lance Holly and Ben Monheiser, and freshman Rhys Dorcey picked up the slack.
By the end of the game, the Red Raiders had been whistled for 14 more fouls and shot 21 fewer free throws than did the Outlaws. Reid Fiscus paced four Red Raiders in double figures with 14 points. Alek Doty finished with 13 points while Isak Doty tallied 12 points. Landon Riddle added 11 points as Sidney dropped their first game of the year and falls to 14-1.
Sidney is back in action Thursday, Friday, and Saturday in the Western Conference Tournament in Scottsbluff and Gering. Brackets will be published when available.