BATTLE MOUNTAIN - After losing by 10 points to Elko just three days earlier, the Lowry High School varsity boys basketball team took its frustrations out on Battle Mountain Friday night with a 64-19 win on the Longhorns' home court.
The Buckaroos provided their best defensive effort of the season, holding the Longhorns to five field goals on the night. Battle Mountain made its first field goal with 4:43 left in the third quarter.
"The defensive effort was there for sure," said LHS head coach Chad Peters. "This is the first time I have come here and we played to our level and not theirs. We had fun and we played loose but hard. We got things done, without the expense of embarrassing Battle Mountain or getting fancy or getting cute. There were so many positives. It is hard to come out and keep the intensity level up when things are happening easier than they normally do."
Lowry's Calvin Connors did not miss a shot on the night. The junior scored 10 of the Buckaroos' 19 points in the first quarter, including two 3-point field goals. Dusty Bryan added four of his 14 points in the opening eight minutes of action as Lowry led 19-3. The only points of the quarter for Battle Mountain came on three free throws by Jake Johnson.
"We were not trying to be mean to Battle Mountain," Peters said. "Battle Mountain worked very hard and to coach (Roger) Wallock's credit, his team fought to the very end. I credit him for getting his kids to play hard for four quarters. He has some guys that are out and that hurt them. On the other hand, I am proud of my guys for not letting up, especially after losing a big game to Elko. We could have easily come out and gone through the motions. We came out and wanted to get better."
The Buckaroos (12-4 overall, 6-1 Division I-A, 1-1 Ruby Mountain) scored the first nine points of the second quarter, with five of those by Connors to push the advantage to 28-3.
The Longhorns found it tough going on offense as the Buckaroos contested a number of shots and forced numerous turnovers. Battle Mountain made four more free throws in the second quarter and was 7-of-8 from the charity stripe in the first half for all of its points.
The Buckaroo dominance continued into the second half, scoring the first eight points of the third quarter to lead 40-7. The Longhorns field goal drought ended on a shot by Daniel Itza.
Lowry led by as many as 36 points in the third quarter, when Itza hit a 3-point shot at the buzzer. The junior scored all seven of Battle Mountain's points in the quarter.
Bryan added six more points in the fourth quarter for Lowry, including the bucket that pushed the game to a running clock at 57-17 with 3:16 left to play.
"Dusty came out and played very, very physical today," added the coach. "We have been working with him in practice to be more physical. This was his best game of the season."
Connors led all scorers with 15 points and Josh Watterson contributed 10 as both saw limited playing time on the floor due to the blowout.
"Calvin did not miss a shot and didn't even take one in the second half," Peters said. "Calvin and Josh are very happy to watch their teammates, who sit and cheer for them, do the things they did tonight."
Josh Shaver and Nate Eldodt scored six points apiece, Tyler Brumm and Justin Albright had four points apiece, Tytus Millikan three and Chris Dendary two.
"It is good when you can play good high school basketball and enjoy the night," Peters said. "We enjoyed the night. We did a solid job."
Lowry is back on the floor tonight to host Spring Creek at 7:30 p.m. in a Division I-A Ruby Mountain League matchup.
Friday, Jan. 18
(At Battle Mountain)
Lowry 64, Battle Mountain 19
Lowry 19 13 15 17 - 64
B. Mtn. 3 4 7 5 - 19
LOWRY (64) (12-4, 6-1, 1-1)
Josh Shaver 3 0-0 6; Josh Watterson 4 2-2 10; Tytus Millikan 1 1-2 3; Calvin Connors 4 3-3 15; Tyler Brumm 2 0-0 4; Dusty Bryan 6 2-3 14; Nate Eldodt 3 0-0 6; Justin Albright 2 0-0 4; Chris Dendary 0 2-2 2. Totals: 25 10-12 64. 3-point field goals: Calvin Connors 4.
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