The Sidney Red Raiders trailed the Gering Bulldogs 18-12 after the first period on Saturday morning. But the Red Raiders got 8 second quarter points from senior Dylan Gunkel to take a 32-26 lead into the locker room on the way to a 58-49 win in the fifth-place game of the Western Conference Tournament at Scottsbluff High School.

Sidney lost their opening round game on Thursday to eventual tournament champion Alliance 60-45, after spotting the Bulldogs the first 13 points of the game. Friday’s first round consolation game against Chadron saw the Red Raiders take a 24-20 lead at intermission, only to fall late to the Cardinals, 47-40.

On Saturday however, Sidney was not going to let another opportunity slip away. Junior Sawyer Dickman poured in 11 of the Red Raiders 14 points in the third period to stretch the Sidney lead, to 46-35. Dickman and senior Zack Burke each added 5 points in the final stanza to hold off the Bulldogs for Sidney’s first win.

Sawyer Dickman led the Red Raiders with 21 points while Zack Burke contributed 13. Dylan Gunkel and junior Wyatt Hickenlively each scored 8 points.

In the girls bracket on Saturday, the Sidney Lady Raiders scored the first 29 points of the ballgame and sailed past the Alliance Bulldogs 54-2. The hapless Bulldogs only score came in the second quarter as the Lady Raiders built a 39-2 halftime lead. Sidney finished the tournament with a record of 2-1, but because the brackets were set up so that teams would not face each other more than once, the Lady Raiders ended up in the fifth-place game.

The Sidney Lady Raiders and Red Raiders will be back on the hardwood next Friday when they travel to Imperial for a double-header with the Chase County Longhorns. Junior Varsity games will begin at 4:00 p.m. Girls Varsity is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. followed by the Boys varsity at 7:00 p.m. Sidney will host a double-header against Bayard on Saturday afternoon with the JV games starting at 2:00 p.m. followed by varsity girls at 3:30 p.m. and varsity boys at 5:00 p.m.