RENO - Ever since the Lowry High School boys basketball team beat Elko for the state championship a year ago, many predicted the two rival schools would meet again in this season's Division I-A North regional championship.
The Buckaroos and Indians proved the prognosticators right, with the two squads advancing to the title game this past Saturday at Wooster High School in Reno.
The Indians won both regular season meetings by 10 and seven points, respectively. Elko led for much of the game on Saturday but had to hold off a Lowry rally in the second half. The Indians used the hot shooting of sophomores Nathan Klekas and Brandon Jenkins, who scored 18 points apiece. Jenkins scored just a combined five points in the first two games the teams played during the regular season but was on fire in the championship on Saturday.
After trailing by as many as six points in the fourth quarter, Lowry's Calvin Connors had a chance to tie the game with seven seconds to play, only to see his 3-point field goal roll off the rim, allowing Elko to hold onto the 58-54 victory.
"What a great basketball game," said LHS head coach Chad Peters. "We worked our butts off today. I would not give this team up for anything. Sometimes it is OK to lose and have what we have. We had some chances and gave them a run for their money. We played very well and they are a very good basketball team. As a fan of high school basketball it doesn't get any better. We still have one week left. We get to go to Las Vegas. That makes me feel happy."
Lowry (21-6 overall) took a 6-4 lead midway through the first period on the strength of two baskets by Tytus Millikan and a short jump shot by Jesse Studebaker. That was the last time the Buckaroos held the advantage as the Indians closed out the opening period on a 10-0 run to lead 14-6.
Josh Watterson scored the first eight points of the second quarter as the junior did his best to keep Lowry in the contest. He began the period with an old-fashioned 3-point play to cut the deficit down to five points.
Jenkins followed with a 3-point field goal of his own to push the margin back to eight points, but the next time down the floor, Watterson was fouled on a 3-point field goal attempt. Watterson made all three free throw shots, but Elko seemingly had an answer for every Lowry bucket.
Lowry closed to within five points at 19-14, when Elko's defense forced two turnovers that led to five points and a 24-14 advantage.
"Believe it or not, we did some good things as a basketball team this weekend," Peters said. "Nobody gave us a chance in hell to play with this team today. Everyone thought we would get beat by 20. We had our opportunities to win the game."
The Indians made the opening bucket of the second half to push the lead to 10 points, when Watterson hit a 3-point shot and Studebaker followed with a basket off a steal to bring the score to 26-21. Lowry forced an Elko turnover the next time down the floor and Watterson had a chance to cut the gap to two points but his shot just missed. The Indians picked up the rebound and moments later Jenkins hit a 3-point shot to push the gap back to eight points.
"Sometimes you are going to see a kid get hot," added the coach. "Brandon did not do anything against us in the first two games. He caught fire today and couldn't miss. That will have happen this time of the year."
Trailing by nine points at 32-23, Lowry rallied with a 9-0 run, which included 3-point field goals by Calvin Connors and Watterson. Studebaker started the spurt and Millikan closed it out with a free throw to tie the game.
The Indians countered with a 3-point field goal of their own to break the tie and went into the fourth quarter with a four-point advantage.
Watterson connected on two 3-point field goals at the start of the fourth quarter, but that was offset by Jenkins' fourth 3-point field goal of the day. Watterson continued his day by converting a 3-point play after getting fouled on a shot that cut the deficit to 48-45.
The Indians reeled of the next four points to push the gap to seven points with three minutes to play. Watterson scored his ninth consecutive point for the Buckaroos and Connors hit back-to-back shots to bring Lowry to within a point at 53-52 with 90 seconds to play.
Elko made two free throws to push the advantage back to three points when Millikan hit a short jump shot with 54 seconds left in the game. The Indians went back to the free throw line with Klekas making both shots to make the score 57-54. On the ensuing possession, Watterson's 3-point attempt missed and Lowry had to foul. The Indians missed both free throws, giving the Buckaroos one more chance to tie the game. Connors had a look from about 20 feet but his shot rolled off the rim, allowing Elko to hold on for the win.
"I know Calvin was hurting but he can't be disappointed," Peters said. "He did not leave the game and played his butt off."
Watterson led all scorers with 25 points, while Connors joined him in double figures with 10. Studebaker scored eight, Millikan five, Garrett Naveran four and Chris Dendary two.
Lowry's shot at the regional championship was almost for not as the Buckaroos needed a 14-3 run in the final four minutes of Friday's semifinal game to beat Sparks 52-48.
"I got out-coached," Peters said. "I thought we could come here and just run our stuff and we would be fine. What got us the win was the effort and mental toughness of the kids. The fact that we played in the state championship last year helped us."
Lowry led by as many as seven points in the first half, but the hot shooting of Sparks gave the Railroaders a 23-21 lead at halftime.
The Buckaroos grabbed the advantage in the third quarter and by as many as four points only to see Sparks go on a 7-0 run and lead until the final 30 seconds, when Studebaker made two free throws to put the Buckaroos up 49-48.
Millikan, Watterson and Studebaker each made one free throw in the final 20 seconds to secure the victory.
"We had a sense of urgency in the fourth quarter and never let them get in an offensive set," Peters said. "Sometimes you would rather be lucky than good."
Studebaker led all scorers with 25 points, while Watterson added 15. Naveran scored six, Josh Shaver four, Dendary two and Millikan one.
Lowry will look to defend its state championship on Friday, as it plays Desert Pines at 8 p.m. at Del Sol High School in Las Vegas. Desert Pines defeated Clark 63-59 on Saturday night to win the Division I-A South championship. Both schools moved down from Division I in the new NIAA realignment. Desert Pines has 3,100 students in its school and Clark has 2,600.
Elko plays Clark at 4:40 p.m. on Friday also at Del Sol. The championship game is set for 7:45 p.m. on Saturday at the Orleans Arena.
"Nobody is giving us a chance to win this weekend," Peters said. "We are not going to lie down or mail it in. That is not us. I like our chances. We are going to go out and look to shock the world."
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