WINNEMUCCA - For the second time this season, Battle Mountain has had the unfortunate task of taking on the Lowry High School varsity boys basketball team after the Buckaroos have lost a game to Elko, the leaders of the Division I-A North.
In the first meeting in early January, Lowry held Battle Mountain without a field goal for nearly 20 minutes in a rout on the Longhorns home floor.
The two schools, separated by 52 miles, played for the last time in Ruby Mountain League play on Friday night, and the Buckaroos capped off their Winterfest week with a 69-20 victory. The Buckaroos (16-5 overall, 7-2 Division I-A, 5-2 Ruby Mountain) led by as many as 53 points in the fourth quarter.
"We went out and had fun tonight," said LHS head coach Chad Peters. "We started two guys that we normally don't and they went out there and did some good things. We were a little out of sorts at the start. We weren't in our groove. That's what happens when we are used to doing something for a long time and it is not the guys fault. We have a routine and it works. The second half proved it. What I like is that we can do some fun things. That's the difference between our program and others."
Battle Mountain had to wait until the middle of the third quarter of the first matchup to make a field goal, but the Longhorns' Daniel Itza made two field goals in the first period on Friday and added two free throws to keep Battle Mountain in the contest at 11-6.
Josh Watterson and Tyler Brumm each nailed 3-point field goals for the Buckaroos in the first period and Justin Albright and Nate Eldodt contributed the other five points in the opening eight minutes of play.
Itza added four more points for Battle Mountain and scored all 10 of the Longhorns' points in the first half. But Lowry finished the second quarter on a 14-0 run to lead 31-10 at the break and never looked back. Jesse Studebaker, Garret Naveran and Watterson combined for all 14 points.
The Buckaroos blew the game open with a 26-6 run in the third period, pushing the advantage to 57-16 with a minute left in the period and the contest and the remainder of the game was played with a running clock. Seven different players for the Buckaroos scored in the third quarter.
Lowry scored the first 12 points of the fourth quarter - all of easy looks near the basket to complete a 52-6 run that started at the end of the second quarter. The Buckaroos did not commit a turnover in the third quarter and had three in the second half.
"Bottom line, it was a good win for us after coming off a tough game just a couple of days before," Peters said.
Watterson led all scorers and nearly outscored Battle Mountain by himself with 18 points. In all, 11 Buckaroos scored on the night.
Chris Dendary, Studebaker and Naveran each scored eight points, Brumm had seven, Dusty Bryan six, Josh Shaver and Albright four apiece Tanner Lecumberry and Eldodt three each.
Lowry closes out its Division I-A schedule tonight at Spring Creek, beginning at 7:30 p.m. If the Buckaroos defeat the Spartans, they will secure the No. 2 seed for the regional tournament, which begins on Wednesday, Feb. 13, at home sites. Lowry would likely play Truckee in that matchup. The semifinals and finals of the regional tournament will be played at Wooster High School on Friday, Feb. 15, and Saturday, Feb. 16. The top teams advance to the state tournament in Las Vegas, the following week.
The Buckaroos close out the regular season at home on Friday against White Pine at 7:30 p.m. and on Saturday versus West Wendover at 3:30 p.m.
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