SIDNEY - The Sidney Lady Raiders and Red Raiders closed out their schedules before the Christmas break with a home sweep of the Alliance Bulldogs, as the Lady Raiders cruised to a 52-29 win and the Red Raiders erupted in the fourth quarter to claim a 62-48 victory.
The girls game started slowly, but Sidney’s defense quickly set the tone, holding Alliance to just 12 points through the first three quarters on the way to a 52-29 win.

Reagan Nesbitt opened the scoring with a baseline jumper just 25 seconds into the game, giving Sidney a 2-0 lead. Points were hard to come by early, as nearly three minutes passed before Taylor Sprenger knocked down a free throw with 4:44 left in the first quarter. Cali Bondegard later connected from beyond the arc to push the Lady Raiders ahead 6-0, and Sidney carried a 9-5 lead after one quarter.
Laramey Misegadis and Jordan Schnell each scored five points in the second period as Sidney limited Alliance to a single field goal. The Lady Raiders went into halftime firmly in control, leading 23-7.

Sidney put the game out of reach in the third quarter, shooting 50 percent from the floor while hitting three of six shots from three-point range. The Lady Raiders scored 19 points in the period and allowed just five, building a commanding 42-12 lead heading into the fourth.
Alliance found some success late, knocking down four three-pointers in the final period, but the Bulldogs were unable to close the gap as Sidney secured its seventh win in eight games.

Misegadis led the Lady Raiders with 14 points, while Sprenger added 11. Sidney forced 20 Alliance turnovers and converted them into 21 points, while also dominating the glass with a 43-25 rebounding advantage. Alliance, now 2-5, was led by Paz Cody with 11 points.
The boys game featured a dramatic turnaround, as the Sidney Red Raiders used a dominant fourth quarter to rally past Alliance for their first win of the season.

In a fast-paced opening quarter, the game was tied or Sidney held the lead for more than five and a half minutes. The score was knotted at 9-9 before Espen Lanik hit the second of his three first-quarter three-pointers to put Alliance in front. Campbell Shoemaker answered with a bucket of his own to tie the game at 12-12, but Alliance closed the quarter on top, 17-13.

The Bulldogs maintained control in the second period, answering each Sidney run and taking a 26-19 lead into halftime.
Sidney cut into the deficit in the third quarter behind five points apiece from Rhys Dorcey and Kash Knobbe, trimming the Alliance lead to four.

The Red Raiders seized momentum early in the fourth. Sidney took its first lead since the opening minutes when Kyle Jaggers was fouled on a made basket with 7:01 remaining to give Sidney a 41-40 advantage. Although Jaggers missed the free throw, Kale Kaiser grabbed the rebound and put it back to extend the Sidney lead to 43-40 — a lead the Red Raiders would not relinquish.

Kaiser scored eight of his 15 points in the final quarter as Sidney outscored Alliance 25-8 over the final eight minutes to pull away for a 62-48 win. Knobbe added 12 points, and Will Gillham scored 10 in the first start of his varsity career. Alliance was led by Lanik with 19 points.

Sidney returns to action at the Sidney Holiday Shootout on December 29 and 30. The Lady Raiders will face North Platte at 2:00 p.m. on Monday, December 29, followed by the Red Raiders taking on Fillmore Central at 3:30 p.m. Both games can be heard live on 98.7 FM The Big Boy, online at thebigboy987.com, or on the News Channel Nebraska app.