FALLON - Not many programs can boast that it has been to a state tournament for seven years in a row. Well, after last weekend, the Lowry High School boys basketball team can lay claim to that honor.
The Buckaroos (19-9) reached the state tournament with a 66-57 win over Spring Creek on Friday night at Churchill County High School in Fallon. Lowry's shot at a regional championship came up short on Saturday afternoon, with a 55-31 loss to Elko.
For the third season in a row, Lowry, Elko, Clark and Desert Pines will play in the state tournament, which takes place in Las Vegas this weekend.
"I am thrilled that we are going back to the state tournament for a seventh year in a row," said LHS coach Chad Peters. "Not many thought this group of kids could do it. I am very proud of them. Our game with Elko was just like last week. We played two good quarters and had a bad five or six minutes out of halftime. We hit the panic button in the third quarter. We had our struggles on offense, but did a good job on defense. We were trying to do to much, instead of going with the flow. They started hitting shots and we couldn't overcome it. Our effort was phenomenal and we didn't quit."
The first half proved to be a defensive battle with each school working for each basket. Elko pulled out to a 7-3 lead in the first minutes of the opening quarter, but Nathan Lutzow provided a put back basket and Christian Gray knocked down a 3-point field to put the Buckaroos up 8-7. The Indians countered with a 3-pointer of their own to go back in front, when Jared Taylor tied the game at 10.
Gray had all five of Lowry's points in the second quarter, including a 3-pointer to bring the score to 17-15 Elko. The Indians took a four-point lead into halftime.
Gray converted his third 3-pointer of the game to start the second half and close the gap to a point, but the Buckaroos went scoreless for the next seven minutes. The Indians followed with four 3-point field goals and went on a 16-0 run to go up 35-19 and never saw the margin drop below double figures from that point on. Sterling Dennis ended the spurt with a running shot with 10 seconds left in the quarter, only to see Elko hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer.
"You can't do that against any team team, let alone Elko," Peters said. "Elko is a very good team. We just have to keep our composure for four quarters."
Lutzow and Gray paced Lowry with eight points apiece, while Omar Guerrero added five. Jacob Hales and Thomas Schwartz had three each and Dennis and Taylor two each.
Each day in practice, teams shoot free throws in many different situations. It paid off for Lowry in its win over Spring Creek on Friday. The Buckaroos were 23-of-29 from the charity stripe, including 16-of-19 in the fourth quarter.
The Buckaroos held a 39-28 lead after three quarters of play, but spent much of their time at the free throw line in the final eight minutes. The Spartans took the lead with the first bucket of the final eight minutes, when Garrett Naveran and Guerrero each made two free throws, with a 3-point shot by Gray thrown in between to provide the Buckaroos with a 46-40 lead.
However, Spring Creek answered with a 3-pointer, which would be a familiar site for a couple of minutes. Lutzow and Gray countered with baskets, but the Spartans made 3-point field goals after those buckets to close the gap to 50-49 with three minutes to play.
Lowry gained momentum when Gray hit a 3-point shot after a steal and the senior converted an old-fashioned 3-point play to put the Buckaroos up 56-49 with 1:53 to play.
Spring Creek trimmed the deficit to 56-53 with 90 seconds to play, but Lowry made free throws down the stretch, including six in a row by Dennis, Naveran and Gray to seal the win.
"We talk about at this time of the year that defensive effort, rebounds and free throws win you games," Peters said. "We did all of that in this game. We have to make sure we keep doing that."
Lowry' trip to the state looked to be in danger in the first quarter as Spring Creek led 18-5. The Buckaroos scored the last four points of the period to cut the margin under 10 points. Spring Creek also held a 26-18 advantage in the second quarter, when Lowry scored the final eight points of the first half to tie the game at 26 at halftime.
"We just played a horrible first quarter," Peters said. "You will have people ask why I didn't call a timeout. I know what is like when we do that to people and we feed off that energy. Sometimes you have to let the kids figure it out. It wasn't like that we were playing poor, Spring Creek was playing very good. They could not miss a shot in the first quarter. We couldn't by a bucket. We had seven turnovers and no rebounds in the first quarter. We had nine rebounds and zero turnovers in the second quarter."
Gray led Lowry with 23 points, Naveran added 14 and Lutzow 13. Dennis and Gray each had six points and Schwartz four.
Lowry will face Clark in the opening round of the state tournament on Friday at 8 p.m. at Silverado High School in Las Vegas. The two teams met in the semifinals last year, with Clark winning. The Chargers went on to beat Elko for the state championship. Elko will play Desert Pines at 4:40 p.m. on Friday.
The championship game is set for 4:30 p.m. on Saturday at the Orleans Arena.
"I am proud of my guys and the seniors," Peters said. "No one sees us coming. We are the ultimate underdog and that's fine with us. We have no pressure on us. Everyone roots for David over Goliath. It doesn't matter who we play. We are going to play a very good Clark team. It is what it is. At the end of the day, we get to play another week."
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