WINNEMUCCA - After losing to West Wendover in overtime two weeks ago, the Lowry High School junior varsity boys basketball team had Saturday's season finale in Winnemucca circled against the school on the Nevada/Utah border.
No extra time was necessary in the second match up, as the Buckaroos (18-5 overall, 9-1 Ruby Mountain League) raced out to a 23-4 lead in the first quarter en route to a 69-49 victory.
"We jumped on them quickly and that is what I wanted," said LHS head coach Jeff Rinas. "I wanted to have the intensity up and we did that. It got a little hectic and we got caught up in their game in the second quarter. We did not score a point for six minutes and let them back in it for a while."
Behind baskets from Dusty Bryan and Tanner Lecumberry, with a 3-point shot in between from Josh Shaver, Lowry opened with a 7-0 lead, forcing West Wendover to call a timeout just two minutes into the game. The run continued with six more points, four of those from Nate Eldodt, as the Wolverines called another timeout 90 seconds after their first one. The Buckaroos scored the final eight points of the period, by four different scorers.
West Wendover turned up the defensive pressure to start the second quarter and began moving the ball up the floor as quickly as possible to get Lowry out of its game. The Wolverines scored the first 11 points of the quarter to close the gap to 23-17 with 2:07 left to go. Ethan Gray ended the scoreless streak for the Buckaroos at the 1:40 mark with a 3-point play, and Justin Albright hit a shot at the buzzer to give Lowry a 27-20 advantage at halftime.
Lowry used back-to-back jump shots by Josh Shaver and Bryan to open a 34-23 lead in the opening minutes of the third period. Seven different Buckaroos scored in the third quarter to help build a 12-point lead.
West Wendover made one last run to close the margin to nine points at 50-41 with five minutes left to play, but Lowry closed the game out on a 19-8 run. The Buckaroos spent much of the rest of the game at the free throw line, making 10-of-17 free throws in the final period.
"We come out in the second half and got it going again," Rinas said. "We outplayed them for three quarters and got beat in one. The intensity was there and they got after it. We didn't lose our composure or panic when they made that run in the second half. The kids did a great job. It was a good win over a team that had beaten us."
Ten players scored for Lowry, with Shaver and Bryan putting up 12 and 11 points, respectively. Albright was also in double figures with 10. Gray added nine, Lecumberry eight, Eldodt six, Sterling Dennis and Jake Logan four apiece, Robert Stepper three and Chris Mendoza two.
It was an easy day for Lowry on Friday afternoon in a 72-30 victory over White Pine in a game played with a running clock in the fourth quarter. Eight different players scored in the opening quarter, as the Buckaroos led 18-7 after eight minutes. The advantage increased to 17 points at halftime. Lowry pulled away in the second half, allowing just 12 points in the third and fourth quarters combined.
The Buckaroos outscored the Bobcats 21-8 in the third quarter and finished out the game on an 18-4 spurt.
All 12 players scored for Lowry, with Eldodt, Gray and Dennis scoring 10 each to share the high-scoring honors. Stepper contributed eight, Shaver seven, Sergio Castaneda and Lecumberry six each, Albright five, Mendoza, Bryan and Logan four apiece and Marcus Molina one.
"It was a good team effort all weekend and it was nice to see us play like we did in our final games," Rinas said. "Hopefully the kids had a good time this year - I did. When we come out and play our game, we are hard to beat. Hopefully they work on their game over the summer. There are only a few spots at the varsity level next year that are coming open."
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