Scottsbluff was in midseason form on Thursday night as the Bearcats drained nine three pointers on their way to a 51-30 win over Chadron in the Western Conference Tourney opener on Thursday.

The Cardinals will now face Sidney at 4:00 pm at Gering High School on Friday.

Chadron kept the margin within single digits until late in the first half when Scottsbluff built a 26-11 halftime lead.

A 12-point 3rd quarter allowed the Cards to cut the deficit down to 31-23, but Scottsbluff responded everytime Chadron thought about closing the gap.

In his Chadron debut, Justus Alcorn paced the Cardinals with 10-points. Xander Provance tallied 9 and Dawson Dunbar added 7.

Rams win season opener over Sioux County

The Crawford Rams clinched a season opener win Thursday night, defeating the Sioux County Warriors in a back-and-forth battle 42-32.

Sioux County jumped out to an early lead with Mike Sanderson hitting a field goal which was followed by three free throws by Cy Hughson. Ritchie Guitierrez and Hughson each added another bucket apiece to give the Warriors a 9-2 lead at the end of the first quarter. Crawford scored just once, mid-way through the period, when Hayes Frahm went to the bucket.

The tide shifted in the second quarter, with the Rams taking a lead behind a 14-4 run. Mitch Knode scored six for the Rams, while Frahm and Andrew Two Bulls chipped in two each. For Sioux County, Tucker Monroe added two to the board, and Colten Randall went two-for-two at the charity stripe. The Rams took a 14-13 lead into the break, ending a first half that saw both teams in foul trouble with each team eligible for bonus shots with just under 6 minutes left in the half and in double bonus for the final three minutes.

The second half began with another close battle, as Monroe drained a trey to tie the contest at 16, and back-to-back layups on each end of the floor tied it again at 18. Sioux County edged ahead with another Monroe three-pointer, and a jumper by Sam Skavdahl made it 23-20 Warriors. Roman Metz scored for the Rams to bring them within one but stepped over the line on his possible game-tying free throw. Metz added another two moments later, however, and Lawson Nolan found the net to give the Rams the lead once more. Knode added a free throw for the Rams to close the third quarter 30-26.

Sioux County’s Skavdahl and Shane Gluth dumped in back-to-back scores to tie the contest again, this time at 30, as the final period began. Levi Van Beck made the go-ahead score for the Rams, the beginning of a 10-6 run for Crawford that gave them the victory.

Scoring:

Crawford            2            14          16          10          -42

Sioux County     9            4            11          8            -32

Crawford: Nolan, 8; Knode, 11; Frahm, 5; Two Bulls, 2; Van Beck, 7; Metz, 8; Huggett, 1

Sioux County: Monroe, 8; Randall, 5; Hughson, 5; Gutierrez, 2; Gluth, 2; Sanderson, 2; Skavdahl, 8

Lady Warriors begin season with win

The Sioux County Warriors picked up a season-opening win over the Crawford Rams Thursday, clinching the victory with a 17-8 run in the final quarter of the 46-33 contest.

Karlee Juhnke, who scored 21 on the night, struck first for the Warriors, and a Kailey Klein trey put them up 5-2 early. The Rams Carly Lemmon. The Rams’ Carly Lemmon added four points to tie the contest at 6, but Britney Klein netted a shot from the charity stripe to end the quarter with a Warriors’ lead, 7-6.

Sioux County widened that gap in the second on a 15-10 run that included treys by Juhnke and Kodie Rempp, and three free throws by Juhnke, Zip Starkey and Skylar Edmund. Beth Krein also chipped in four for the Warriors. Crawford’s Natalie Barry went three for six at the free throw line, while Kylah Vogel and Lemmon added a trey and a field goal, respectively. Jasmine Dyer also hit an inside shot for the Rams, but Sioux County took a 22-16 lead into the break.

The third quarter was another tight contest, with the Rams gaining the advantage this time on a 9-7 run to cut into the Warriors’ lead. Dyer scored six in the period, while Barry added two and Hadlee Rudloff chipped in a free throw. Kailey Klein added five for the Warriors, including a trey, in the effort to maintain a Sioux County 29-25 edge.

The Warriors turned up the heat in the final minutes, with a 17-8 run over the Rams. Juhnke drove the lane for eight points and went two-for-two from the free throw line, and Krein added another inside shot. Britney Klein sank another free throw, and Rempp added four of the last six points with a trey and a free throw.

Scoring:

Crawford          6             10          9            8            -33

Sioux County    7             15          7            17          -46

Crawford: Vogel, 7; Barry, 7; Lemmon, 6; Rudloff, 1; Dyer, 12

Sioux County: Juhnke, 21; K. Klein, 8; Rempp, 7; B. Krein, 6; B. Klein, 2; Edmund, 1; Starkey 1