WINNEMUCCA - How good is the Lowry High School varsity basketball team? The Buckaroos played just two games in the Lowry Invitational this past weekend at the Winnemucca Event Center, but will head out on their first road trip with a perfect 3-0 record.
Lowry began its season on Thursday night with a 59-46 victory over Virgin Valley and followed that up with a 57-44 defeat of Carson on Friday.
The Buckaroos were to play North Tahoe on Saturday afternoon, but the coaching staff of the Lakers said the players came down with food poisoning and were unable to play. North Tahoe had not won a game in the tournament, including a loss to Carson of over 40 points.
Lowry earned the forfeit win and played an intra-squad scrimmage for 30 minutes for the fans that were expecting a game.
"It was a good weekend for us," said LHS head coach Chad Peters. "I was disappointed that North Tahoe did not stick around, but we got more out of playing each other than playing them. We were rusty and nervous against Virgin Valley and did not shoot well. We played much better against Carson and I was very pleased with our defense. The difference between this time last year and right now, this team knows what we are looking for. We won two games this weekend because of our defense and not our offense. We held both teams to 17 points in the first half. If you hold teams to 17 points, I don't care who you play, you are going to win most of those games. I still think there is room for improvement but we are light years ahead of where we were last year."
Lowry held Virgin Valley to three points through the first 10 minutes of Thursday's matchup, building a 14-3 advantage. The Bulldogs cut the deficit to 5-3 with two minutes left in the first quarter when the Buckaroos closed out the period with five straight points on baskets by Garrett Naveran and Calvin Connors.
The Buckaroos finished off the 9-0 run with the first four points of the second quarter off shots by Tytus Millikan and Josh Watterson to lead 14-5. Virgin Valley rallied to close the gap to 21-17 but Lowry took the momentum into halftime with a three-point play. Josh Shaver was at the free throw line for two shots. He missed both foul shots but rebounded his own miss and banked in a shot at the buzzer and was fouled in the process. He made the free throw, giving the Buckaroos a 24-17 halftime advantage.
Lowry scored six of the first nine points of the second half - four of those by Watterson. Watterson converted two more 3-point plays and Millikan and Jesse Studebaker made 3-points, propelling the Buckaroos to a 45-28 lead entering the fourth quarter.
Virgin Valley found its shooting touch in the fourth quarter, hitting three 3-point field goals, including two by Garrett Leavitt, who led the Bulldogs with 20 points. Virgin Valley closed to within 53-43 but got no closer as Studebaker countered with four points in a row to put Lowry comfortably in front.
Watterson and Connors paced the Buckaroos with 21 and 10 points, respectively. Shaver and Naveran added eight points each, Studebaker six and Millikan five.
"Virgin Valley is a good team," Peters said. "Jesse got in early foul trouble. But our bench stepped up and played well and they did that all weekend."
There was no slow start against Carson, with Shaver, Watterson and Studebaker connecting from long distance in the first quarter, helping the Buckaroos to a 10-2 lead. The Senators closed the gap to 14-10 at the end of the first quarter, but that was as close as they got. The Senators scored 20 of their 44 points from the foul line.
"We came out and played well and were in control the entire night," said the coach. "We were in early foul trouble again, this time with Calvin. The beautiful thing about our team is guys come off the bench and fill in where they are needed. We have multiple guys to bring in to fill multiple positions. Luckily for us we can go 12 deep and be just fine. It is a good situation to have as a head coach."
Carson closed within nine points at 32-23 in the third quarter, when Lowry went on 8-5 run to go back up by 11 points and the margin never dropped below double figures again.
Watterson led Lowry with 14 points and 10 rebounds, Naveran also had a double-double with 10 points and 11 rebounds and Studebaker had nine points and 10 rebounds. As a team the Buckaroos had 41 rebounds that offset 22 turnovers.
"I though Garrett had a great weekend," Peters said. "He got a ton of experience last year as a freshman and you can see how much he has matured physically and mentally. I was worried about every one of our kids where we would be maturity-wise. Those worries are pretty much gone. We were actually the most physical team here and I don't think I could have said that before."
Chris Dendary had a strong night for the Buckaroos with eight points, Shaver added five, Connors four, Millikan three and Dusty Bryan and Nate Eldodt finished with two each.
Lowry heads out on the road for the first time this year, when they play at Boulder City on Thursday at 6:30 p.m. The Buckaroos lost the regular season matchup 63-48 to the Eagles last year, but Lowry beat Boulder City 60-45 in the state semifinals on its way to a 11th state championship.
Lowry will then travel to Mesquite on Friday and Saturday to play in the Virgin Valley tournament. The Buckaroos will play Basic at 3 p.m. on Friday. Lowry will play either Moapa Valley or Cimarron-Memorial on Saturday morning.
"We are heading towards our toughest road trip of the season," Peters said. "We know what we are getting into this time. It will be nice to see what we can do. We will see how we play with some of the teams down south. Basic is very athletic and has a kid who is going to play football at USC next year."
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