It is hard to complain about winning games by 36 and 34 points but there is one thing Lowry High School boys basketball coach Chad Peters wants to fix.
The Buckaroos have started slow in the past few games only to turn it on in the second half and blow teams away.
"I know teams are fired up and ready to play because we are who we are and they do the same thing to Elko," Peters said. "It's nice that we get that momentum and get going but at the same time I don't understand why it takes us so long to get there. It's like we come out a little too cool for school and were not as ready to play. I hare getting on them and screaming at them. If that is what it takes, I will chew their butt in the pregame. Bottom line is we are 18-2 and won the last two games by 36 and 34 points."
South Tahoe led Lowry by three points in the first half, before the Buckaroos outscored the Vikings 53-22 in the second half, including a 30-point third quarter.
"South Tahoe is the only team that we played against that is good and likes to play an up-tempo style of ball," Peters said. "We didn't stop them very well and made some adjustments at halftime and we looked better. The biggest thing was I don't think we shot the ball very well in the first half. We forced a lot of bad shots."
Lowry scored the final four points of the first half on buckets by Josh Watterson and Tytus Millikan to take a 25-22 lead at halftime. South Tahoe netted the first bucket of the second half but it was all Lowry after that.
Calvin Connors, who celebrated his 18th birthday with a team-high 18 points, gave the Buckaroos a 38-30 lead on a drive to the basket early in the third quarter. After a 3-point field goal by South Tahoe, Lowry scored the next 16 points to go in front 54-33.
"I thought Calvin was a lot more aggressive defensively and offensively in the second half," Peters said. "There was a little more fire from him and all the guys. It looked like there was a sense of urgency."
Josh Shaver and Millikan combined for 11 of those points and Garrett Naveran completed the spurt with an old-fashioned 3-point play.
The rout continued as Lowry went on a 19-6 run to start the fourth quarter and lead 74-42. Connors connected on two 3-pointers and finished off another play with a bucket and free throw in the spurt.
"It was tough for me for what game to play," Peters said. "I wanted to put my big guys on the floor and pound inside, but we can't guard South Tahoe down the floor. They set the tone and we had to match that. That bothers me but I need to just accept it. I thought we looked like zombies in the first half."
Millikan reached double figures with 10 points and Delane Black, Josh Watterson and Shaver each had nine points. Garrett Naveran scored seven, Tanner Lecumberry six, Christian Gray and Dusty Bryan four apiece and Nate Eldodt two.
It was the same story Friday as Lowry led Dayton 15-13 after a quarter before cruising to a 66-30 victory. Twelve players scored for the Buckaroos in completing the season sweep.
Lowry used a 39-9 run in the second and third quarters and allowed just 17 points in the final 24 minutes.
Watterson scored a team-high 16 points while Black and Shaver scored nine each. Naveran had eight, Justin Albright, Millikan and Bryan four apiece, Thomas Schwartz three, Connors, Lecumberry and Gray two each and Eldodt one.
Lowry begins a four-game road trip this weekend at Sparks on Friday at 7:30 p.m. and Truckee on Saturday at 3:30 p.m.
"We have to go to the Brickhouse on Friday and it will be packed," Peters said. "Sparks may have just one win, but it's a tough place to play. We go to Truckee in a much smaller gym and they are playing well. It's a matter of what team shows up for us. If the team that showed up in the second half on Saturday comes out and plays, I am good with that. We can't let Sparks and Truckee hang around."[[In-content Ad]]
