LAS VEGAS - The Lowry High School boys basketball team entered the state tournament last weekend as the ultimate underdog.
The Buckaroos were facing Clark, the defending state champion and the same school that ended the Buckaroos last year. Lowry was not going to go out without a fight and played a strong defensive first half, holding the Chargers to just 20 points.
However, the Chargers wore down the Buckaroos in the second half and went on for a 57-31 win at Silverado High School in Las Vegas Friday night.
"Our big thing was to come out and don't be pushed around," said LHS coach Chad Peters. "We didn't want to be timid and we wanted to be the aggressor. If we shoved them to the ground, we shoved them to the ground. We did a good job of confusing them and we made things tough for them in the first half."
It wasn't the best of starts for Lowry, as Clark won the opening tip and threw a half-court pass for an alley-oop dunk in the opening seconds.
"We worked all week in practice on that and they are so athletic that they still did it on us," Peters said. "We have to survive things like that. On a normal team that leads to a 10-0 run in the first quarter. We didn't let it phase us and we battled back."
Christian Gray and Omar Guerrero knocked down early baskets to keep Lowry within a point at 5-4. Clark reeled off the next seven points to go in front 12-4, when Gray closed out the first quarter with a bucket.
The Chargers stretched the advantage to 20-8 midway through the second quarter, when Gray drained two baskets, including a 3-pointer to bring the Buckaroos within six points at 20-13, with 2:23 left in the half. Gray finished the night with 12 points, with nine of those coming in the first half. Guerrero added two free throws near the end of the half to close the deficit to six points at 20-14.
"I was so proud of the boys playing so physical and smart," Peters said. "They held a very, very, very good basketball team to 20 points in a half. Not many teams did that this year. We put in a triangle and two and were going to use it if we needed it. We were going to save for the second half."
After containing Clark for much of the first half, the Chargers caught fire in the second half, led by freshman James Bridges who scored all 14 of his points in the second half, including four 3-point field goals.
Clark opened the third quarter on a 10-2 run, when Nathan Lutzow scored off an inbound play to cut the gap to 30-20. The Chargers went on another 9-2 run, with six of those points coming from Bridges. Gray stopped that run with a 3-point field goal of his own, but Lowry was never closer than 14 points the rest of the way.
"We just had another bad third quarter," Peters said. "I thought Thomas (Schwartz) did a great job against Colby (Jackson). Colby is probably one of the best point guards in the state and Thomas did a great job containing him. Sterling (Dennis) did a great job on Carter (Olsen) and Garrett (Naveran) did a good job on Tyrek (Wells).
Lowry (19-10) held down Clark's top players but it was Bridges and Darius Jackson, who stepped up for the Chargers with a combined 29 points.
"We did a good job of containing their top guys," added the coach. "But, hey they had a couple kids step up. When you are a freshman, he is either going to airball five shots or he swishes five, because he doesn't know the bigness of the game. Give credit to him, he made them."
The Chargers opened the fourth quarter on a 10-3 spurt to lead 51-28 and they made 16-of-25 shots in the second half.
Guerrero added 11 points for the Buckaroos, Lutzow had four, Naveran two and Sterling Dennis and Roberto Sanchez one each.
Clark went on to beat Desert Pines on Saturday for its second consecutive state championship.
"Our effort, regardless of the score was amazing," Peters said. "If we were going to go out, we were going out that way. We battled as best as we can. It was a great run for us this year. I love my seniors and they played extremely well. I really can't be disappointed or upset. You always want to win the last game, but when you put a little bit of fear into a really good team for a half. Sometimes you don't like morale victories, but after the game when the opposing coach compliments your team and out hustled us, it makes you feel good as a coach."
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