RENO - For the past couple of weeks, the stars were aligning for the Lowry High School boys basketball team to make a run for the state championship.
If history was any indication over the past 20 years, it was the Buckaroos' turn to bring home their 11th state title back to Winnemucca. Lowry won state championships in 1992 and 2002 over Needles (Calif.) and Moapa Valley, respectively. And now, 10 years after the last title, the Buckaroos are champions once again after a 52-48 win over Elko in Saturday's 3A championship game at Lawlor Events Center in Reno.
"I am so, so, so proud of my guys," said LHS head coach Chad Peters. "There comes a time in life you coach and do things and you're very proud of people. You surround yourself with good people and good things will happen. We worked our butts off for 85 days waiting for this moment. It is not about one, but it is about the team. In order to win this, and I have said this a number of times, you have to have a good team, play good defense and get a little lucky. All three of those things happened to us this weekend."
It was redemption for Lowry (22-6), who lost the last two state championships to Sparks and Moapa Valley, respectively, including giving up a double-digit lead to the Pirates last year in Las Vegas. The Buckaroos had lost twice to Elko during the regular season and the Indians made a run like Moapa Valley did a season ago to cut a once 13-point advantage to one in the fourth quarter, but Lowry did not give up the lead this time.
"That did not even cross my mind one time when Elko was making that run," Peters said. "I knew we would be OK. I can't get past it, I can't explain it and it is what it is. I might only have one freshman and it's about having faith in a team. It didn't matter that it was a freshman catching those post ups and making shots or it was Tytus (Millikan) hitting two clutch 3's, Calvin (Connors) taking care of the ball and getting us up the floor or Josh (Watterson) stepping out and taking a lesser role and not starting and accepting it. This whole season was about team. Eighty-five days ago I didn't know what I had when we started. We lost nine seniors from a year ago and we end up in another state championship game and we win it. It just shows what we have at Lowry."
Lowry built a 10-point lead at halftime and carried that momentum through the third quarter. Elko's DJ Natty cut the deficit to seven points at 36-29 after two free throws, but Millikan connected on two 3-point shots to push the margin back to 13 at 42-29 with 2:14 to play in the third quarter.
The Indians made a run in the final two minutes, including a 25-foot shot by Nathan Klekas at the end of the third period to bring the game within six at 42-36. Elko capped off a 12-0 run to make the score 42-41, but the Indians were not able to get over the threshold to take the lead. The next time down the floor, Watterson found Jesse Studebaker inside for an easy layup to stop the run.
In between a bucket by Elko, Naveran hit two shots from inside the key to push the lead back to 50-43 with 2:02 to play. Elko followed with five consecutive points, including a 3-point shot by Brandon Jenkins with 31.9 seconds to go, after a missed shot by the Buckaroos. Elko forced a Lowry turnover on the ensuing possession, but a layup by Natty was too hard off the backboard and the Buckaroos were able to get the rebound.
The Indians were forced to foul three times in the final 30 seconds to put Lowry into the bonus and with 12.1 seconds to play, Studebaker came to the free throw line and calmly hit both shots to make it a four-point game.
The Buckaroos had one foul to give in the final 12 seconds and used that to help run some extra time off the clock, as the Indians never got a good look at the basket for a final desperation shot.
"Those were two clutch free throws," added the coach. "He had ice in his veins and that is why he is an all-state player. My kids knew that they were going to win today. We came out and played with class. There was a lot of faith and belief and good vibes that happened down the stretch. We may have lost twice to them this year but we won the one that counted.
"I don't want to wait another 10 years to get another championship. We talk about the stars aligning, when we left the gym at Reno on Friday we walked out the door and the kids took pictures, there were three stars and the moon in a perfect line."
Lowry never trailed, as Connors made a 3-point field goal to start the game. The Buckaroos finished the opening quarter on a 9-3 run started by a 3-point shot by Watterson. Lowry also stepped up defensively by taking two charges, both on Elko's Nathan Klekas, who sat the bench for much of the first half with two fouls.
"It feels great right now," said Dion Wardell. "The coaches had a lot of faith in me to put me in the starting lineup towards the end of the year and it gave me a lot of confidence. I am just speechless right now, can't think of anything better."
Millikan, Studebaker and Naveran each had 10 points to lead the Buckaroos. Watterson scored eight, Connors six, Jordan Rinas three, Chris Dendary and Brandon Eastman two apiece and Wardell one.
"It just feels awesome, especially after how last season ended," said Eastman. "When this season started I wasn't too optimistic, but we worked hard in practice and got better every day. It feels good. We lost the lead towards the start of the fourth quarter but held it together this year. It is a nice feeling."
In order to get to the championship game, Lowry needed to erase a demon from earlier in the year and avenge a 15-point loss to Boulder City. The Buckaroos did just that Friday night with a 60-45 win over the Eagles at Reno High School.
Lowry found itself in early foul trouble with three starters collecting three fouls in the first half. However, the Buckaroo bench stepped up in the second quarter with a 17-3 run that decided the outcome.
"The last four minutes of the second quarter was huge and the difference in the game," added the coach. "We had some guys step up when we were in trouble with fouls. We had things go our way that we normally do not. That happened because of effort and ours was better than theirs."
Boulder City led by two points after eight minutes of play, but after the 17-3 Lowry run the Buckaroos were in control the rest of the way. Lowry led by as many as 17 points at the start of the fourth quarter and could have put the game away much earlier but was 1-of-8 from the free throw line to begin the fourth period. As a team, Lowry shot 16-of-33 from the charity stripe.
Watterson led all scorers with 20 points, with Eastman and Studebaker joining him in double figures with 11 and 10, respectively. Wardell and Connors pitched in seven each, Millikan two and Tyler Brumm, Rinas and Naveran one each.
"As much as it is about the boys, it is about our support, my coaches, my parents and the city of Winnemucca," Peters said. "It is about the girls basketball team, the wrestlers - who we are just trying to keep up with and we got closer today - the band, the cheerleaders and the dance team. It is the classiest program in the state. It's not about one; it is about all of us."
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