A strong third quarter helped the Scottsbluff boys basketball team pull away from Sidney for a 45-34 win Saturday night at Sidney High School.

In the girls game at Scottsbluff High School, Sidney managed to prevail, 40-36.

The boys contest was an intriguing one, since Sidney upset the then No. 1-rated Bearcats 56-54 last weekend. The teams battled closely again at times Saturday; however, Scottsbluff outscored Sidney 15-4 in the third quarter to break open a close game.

Scottsbluff coach Tony Siske said his team's defense allowed the Bearcats to open up a tight game at halftime.

"We played really good defense," Siske said. "Offensively, we were a little off, but our defense was great tonight."

Sidney coach Jay Ehler said Scottsbluff's third-quarter output put his team in too big of a hole to climb out of.

"Scottsbluff came out in the third quarter and made some nice plays offensively, and we struggled to make shots," Ehler said. "Once they got up on us around ten points, it was hard to come back."

Ehler added, "We expected it to be tough after beating them last week. They are athletic and have several good players, so they are hard to defend."

Scottsbluff, which is ranked No. 3 in this week's Omaha World-Herald Class B poll, received a big performance from Zach Clemens, who collected 15 points and 14 rebounds. Michael Hadden also came up big on the boards, pulling down 10 rebounds. For the game, Scottsbluff out-rebounded Sidney 39-19.

Rich Williams added 10 points for the Bearcats, and Eric Moreno finished with eight.

Sidney's leading scorer was Lane Harvey with 11 points. Jack McAreavey contributed seven points, and Tyler Schoening had six.

Scottsbluff got off to a great start, outscoring Sidney 16-8 in the first quarter. Sidney, though, stormed back in the second period, going on a 12-6 run to pull back to within 22-20 at halftime.

Sidney couldn't maintain its momentum in the third quarter, though, as Scottsbluff took control by outscoring the Red Raiders 15-4.

Siske said his team didn't make any big halftime adjustments.

"We just re-emphasized the things that we wanted to do, and the kids came out and did a good job of executing," he said.

The victory was the second straight for the Bearcats after they fell to Sidney last weekend. Scottsbluff also picked up a road win Friday, turning back Alliance 67-55.

"It was a good weekend for us, having two road games and getting two wins," Siske said.

Scottsbluff, which improved to 16-2 on the season, will now prepare for the East/West Shoot Out next week. The Bearcats will host North Platte at 7 p.m. on Thursday, before hosting Lexington at 7 p.m. on Friday. On Saturday the Bearcats will host McCook at 3:15 p.m.

Sidney (12-5), meanwhile, will try to bounce back from Saturday's loss on Tuesday when it travels to No. 7-rated Gering. The Red Raiders, who moved into the Class B poll this week at No. 8, will then play at Chadron on Friday before hosting Mitchell next Saturday.

Scottsbluff (16-2).....................16 6 15 8-45

Sidney (12-5).........................8 12 4 10-34

SCOTTSBLUFF

Isaiah Castellaw 4, Matt Klein 4, Rich Williams 10, Michael Hadden 4, Eric Moreno 8, Zach Clemens 15.

SIDNEY

Lane Harvey 11, Logan Lewis 2, Sam Arterburn 3, Chase Frerichs 3, Chris Lambrecht 2, Tyler Schoening 6, Jack McAreavey 7.