Red Raiders fall in District Final
A relentless trapping full court press, a very tight nostalgic old gym, and the number three team in the Class B state rankings ended the Sidney Red Raiders season Saturday afternoon in the B-4 District Final in Elkhorn.
By News Channel Nebraska
ELKHORN, NE — A relentless trapping full court press, a very tight nostalgic old gym, and the number three team in the Class B state rankings ended the Sidney Red Raiders season Saturday afternoon in the B-4 District Final in Elkhorn. The Knights of Mount Michael Benedictine advanced to the Nebraska State Boys Basketball Championships with an 82-42 win over Sidney at the Mount Michael Gym affectionately nicknamed “The Palace.”
Senior Brad Bennett hit a pair of three pointers for Mount Michael and Sidney turned the ball over nine times in the first quarter as the Knights finished the period on a 17-3 run to take a commanding 28-10 lead into the second.
6’7” junior, Kuon Kuon hit a pair of three pointers of his own while pouring in 10 second-quarter points to bolster the Knights lead to 46-19 at intermission.
The third quarter mirrored the fist half, with Mount Michael’s stifling defense making it challenging for Sidney to generate any kind of offense. Senior Kaleb Brink paced the Knights with 10 points in the period, as Mount Michael outscored the Raiders 26-11 to initiate a running clock and take a 72-30 advantage into the final stanza.
The Red Raiders were led in scoring by junior Sawyer Dickman’s 11 points, while senior Dylan Gunkel added 8 points. Sidney finishes their 2020-21 season at 12-12, 9 wins better than a year ago, and qualified for a District Final for the first time since the 2017-18 season.
Mount Michael had four players score in double-figures, led by seniors Kyle Pelan with 19 points and Kaleb Brink with 18 points.
Sidney – Brayden Shaw 0, Sawyer Dickman 11, Zack Burke 3, Wyatt Heckenlively 4, Jaeden Dillehay 3, Micah Schneider 5, Treyson Johnstone 2, Connor Hartzler 0, Nolan Hofrock 3, Dylan Gunkel 8, Jacob Dowse 0, Isak Doty 3, Cam Leeling 0, Koleman Kaiser 0
Mount Michael Benedictine – Parker Hottovy 7, Daniel Mondi 0, Joe Bruggeman 0, Aaron Karnish 4, Kuon Kuon 14, Eli Crnkovich 0, Airan Lopez 10, Joseph Chouinard 2, Matt Janecek 0, Kyle Pelan 19, Brad Bennett 8, Dylan Brown 0, Kaleb Brink 18, Will Stringer 0