WINNEMUCCA - When you are a quality team like the Lowry High School varsity boys basketball squad, you have a target on your back every time you go out on the floor.
The Buckaroos found that out firsthand on Friday night at South Tahoe in their Division I-A North opener. The Vikings raced out to a 19-5 first quarter lead and were up by as many as 18 points in the second quarter, before the Buckaroos rallied in the second half to win 63-55.
"What my guys need to remember is that everyone is going to give us their best game," said LHS head coach Chad Peters. "They want to beat Lowry and we have to be ready to play. It's like when an unranked college team goes and plays a top-25 team. Their day is made if they win that game."
South Tahoe hit a number of shots early in the first quarter and Lowry was held to just two field goals and five points in its lowest total in any quarter this year.
"We just didn't do what we normally do," Peters said. "We let South Tahoe dictate the game and they made their shots. We settled for way too many 3-point field goals and we didn't get the ball to our guys inside."
The Buckaroos (2-0 Division I-A North, 10-1 overall) methodically cut into the Vikings lead in the second and third quarters and trailed 39-34 with eight minutes to play.
"Some teams would try to make up that deficit as quick as they can," said the coach. "But we are a veteran team and we just took our time and made sure we got back in the game. We would cut it to four or five points but South Tahoe came back to go in front by eight or nine points."
After scoring just 34 points in the first three quarters, the Buckaroos exploded for 29 points in the fourth quarter, their highest total in any quarter this year.
The Vikings kept Garrett Naveran and Josh Watterson quiet for much of the contest, but the Buckaroo duo combined for 18 points in the final eight minutes of play.
"As bad as we played for the first three quarters, I was very pleased with what we did in the fourth quarter," Peters said. "We got the ball to Garrett and Josh and they worked their butts off. I like the way we held our composure. It was almost a 30-point turnaround after the first quarter."
Naveran and Watterson led Lowry with 18 and 16 points, respectively. Naveran added 10 rebounds for a double-double. Josh Shaver contributed eight points and Dusty Bryan and Calvin Connors had six points apiece. Nate Eldodt scored four, Tytus Millikan three and Sterling Dennis two.
The Buckaroos traveled to Dayton on Saturday to close out the road trip and were without three players, including two starters. That did not matter as Lowry ran away with a 62-34 victory.
"To go out on the road without three quality players and get a win by 30 points, I will take that every time," said the coach.
Lowry jumped out to a 15-4 advantage in the first quarter and never looked back. The Buckaroos led 25-17 at halftime, but came out of the break on a 21-4 run to go in front 46-21.
"We had some guys step up and play well for us," Peters said. "At times it was much of our bench guys on the floor at times."
Connors and Watterson paced the Buckaroos with 13 and 12 points, respectively. Millikan added eight points, Bryan seven, Tanner Lecumberry six, Dennis five, Justin Albright four, Eldodt three and Thomas Schwartz and Shaver two each.
"I thought Dusty played his best game of the year," Peters said. "He is one of the biggest guys in our league and he can use that to his advantage. Calvin just keeps doing what he needs to do for us."
After playing 10 of its first 11 games on the road, Lowry returns home on Friday, Jan. 3, to host Sparks at 7:30 p.m. The Buckaroos host Truckee on Saturday, Jan. 4, at 3:30 p.m.
"I am pleased with where we are at right now," Peters said. "We went out and got two road wins to begin our league season. We have been on the road all month and we get some rest now. The guys have seven days off and we will get back to work. It will be nice to play a home game and sleep in our own beds."
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