SIDNEY, Neb. — The Western Conference boys and girls basketball tournaments begin Thursday and run through Saturday, Jan. 29–31, with games played at Western Nebraska Community College, Scottsbluff High School and Gering High School.

The Sidney Red Raiders and Lady Raiders are both part of the eight-team brackets and will open tournament play Thursday evening.

In the boys bracket, Sidney is scheduled to face Alliance at 5:30 p.m. Thursday in Gering. The winner advances to Friday’s semifinal round at Western Nebraska Community College. Championship and placement games will be held Saturday, with the title game set for 3:30 p.m. at WNCC. 

The girls tournament opens with Sidney taking on Alliance at 4 p.m. Thursday in Gering. The winner moves on to Friday’s semifinals at WNCC, with the championship game scheduled for 2 p.m. Saturday.

Other teams in the fields include Scottsbluff, Gering, Chadron, North Platte, Gretna East and Ascent Academy. Fifth- and seventh-place games also scheduled at Scottsbluff and Gering.

Sidney enters the tournament after a challenging weekend against ranked opponents. The Lady Raiders dropped road games to Gothenburg and Ogallala to move to 11-3, while the Red Raiders fell to Gothenburg and Ogallala and are 4-11 on the season.

Catch each Sidney game on Cheyenne County Country (1340 AM, 95.7 FM), newschannelnebraska.com and the free NCN app through Saturday.