Raiders Roll Past Alliance in Regular Season Finale

ALLIANCE - The Sidney Lady Raiders and Sidney Red Raiders closed out the regular season in dominant fashion Friday night on the road, sweeping the Alliance Bulldogs.

Lady Raiders 64, Alliance 29

After a sluggish start, Sidney’s defense took control as the Lady Raiders forced 29 Alliance turnovers and converted them into 32 points on the way to a 64-29 victory.

Sidney grabbed its first lead at 7-6 on a pair of free throws by junior Reagan Nesbitt with 1:42 remaining in the opening quarter. The Lady Raiders led 9-7 after one period and held the Bulldogs to single-digit scoring in every quarter.

Sidney found its rhythm in the second, knocking down eight of 15 shots from the field, including two of three from beyond the arc, to build a 27-14 halftime advantage.

The game broke open in the third quarter as Laramey Misegadis and Jordan Schnell combined for 17 points. Sidney outscored Alliance 28-9 in the period to take a commanding 55-23 lead into the fourth.

Sidney improves to 17-5 on the season, while Alliance falls to 11-13.

Misegadis and Kierra Schrader led the Lady Raiders with 12 points each. Taylor Sprenger and Lilee Wieser added 10 points apiece. Reese Armstrong paced the Bulldogs with seven points.

Red Raiders 87, Alliance 58

In the boys contest, Alliance led early 4-2 before Sidney’s perimeter game took over.

Alek Doty hit back-to-back three-pointers and Kash Knobbe added three triples of his own as the Red Raiders built a 21-15 lead after one quarter.

Knobbe drained two more threes in the second and Doty added another as Sidney extended its lead to 44-28 at the half.

Lance Holly, Kyle Jaggers and Doty each connected from long range in the third quarter, helping the Red Raiders push the margin to 64-42 heading into the final period.

Sidney finished with a season-high 12 three-pointers and improved to 10-13 on the year. Alliance drops to 11-13.

Doty led the way with 24 points, while Knobbe added 17. Kale Kaiser and Keian Kaiser each contributed 12 points. Espen Lanik led Alliance with 12.

The Red Raiders and Lady Raiders will begin postseason play next week. The Red Raiders are the No. 4 seed in the C1-10 Sub-District at Ogallala and will tip off against the No. 5 seed Mitchell Tigers (9-13) at 4:00 p.m. MST. The game will air on 1340 AM/95.7 FM Cheyenne County Country, online at thebigboy987.com and on the News Channel Nebraska app.

The Lady Raiders begin their district play as the No. 1 seed in the B-5 District. Sidney will face the winner of Omaha Mercy Monarchs (9-14) and Ralston Rams (2-21) at Lexington High School on Wednesday, February 25 at 5:00 p.m. CST (4:00 p.m. MST). Fans can catch the action on 98.7 FM The Big Boy, online at thebigboy987.com or on the News Channel Nebraska app.