SPRING CREEK - After one quarter, things looked pretty rosy for the Spring Creek boys basketball team against favored Lowry High School. After that, the Buckaroos took over.
Spring Creek opened a 15-11 first quarter lead, but Lowry took control with a 21-3 run to pull away for a 60-39 win Tuesday in Spring Creek.
"We got lucky," Lowry coach Chad Peters said. "Spring Creek came out and played harder than us in the first. I thought it was good how we responded."
The Spartans wish they could have kept it up.
"We came out and executed in the first quarter on offense and defense but in the second quarter they came out in a trap and we turned it over too many times," Spring Creek coach Scott Carsrud said. "You have to execute for a full 32 minutes to have a chance against a team like Lowry."
Christian Gray led all scorers with 14 points and his teammate Josh Watterson added 12. Dustin Shafer led the Spartans with 13 points and Star 'Ita added 10 despite missing much of the second quarter after a hard collision.
Shafer and 'Ita powered the Spartans in the first quarter, combining for 12 points en route to Spring Creek's 15-11 first-quarter lead.
Both players had early success driving to the bucket, as four of Shafer's points came from the free-throw line and 'Ita collected his points in the paint against Lowry's big frontcourt.
In the second quarter, Lowry (16-2 overall, 7-1 Division I-A North) flipped a switch.
Watterson started to take control of the paint, scoring and creating space for his teammates to rain shots on the Spartans.
Spring Creek scored an early two points in the second frame, but the Buckaroos exploded for a 19-1 run to close out the half to take control of the game by halftime with a 32-18 lead.
If the game was not out of reach by that point, Lowry made sure it became that way soon after the break.
The Buckaroos unloaded once more in the third quarter, extending their lead to 47-24 with a 15-6 advantage in the third frame.
The Spartans rebounded for a better fourth quarter, pulling a bit closer with a 15-13 showing, but Lowry was able to keep them at an arm's length and cruise to the 60-39 win.
The Buckaroos are at home this weekend to play Dayton at 7:30 p.m. Friday and South Tahoe Saturday at 3:30 p.m.[[In-content Ad]]
