With more than 75 percent of its team rebuilt from a season ago, the Lowry High School boys basketball team had positioned itself for a run at a seventh straight state tournament appearance.
The Buckaroos closed out the regular season last weekend at Spring Creek and Elko. Lowry avenged an earlier loss to Spring Creek, beating the Spartans 59-47 on Friday, Feb. 13. The Buckaroos moved down the hill to Elko on Saturday and lost to the league champs 58-37.
"We did a nice job at Spring Creek and had a strong fourth quarter," said LHS coach Chad Peters. "We played much better against them this time. We got in foul trouble and we had some guys step up off the bench and played well. It was a nice team effort."
Lowry jumped out to the early lead and was up 14-10 after eight minutes of play. The Spartans cut the gap to 18-17 off a 3-point field goal by Logan Patton, but the Buckaroos' Omar Guerrero countered with a 3-point field goal of his own and Lowry went into halftime with a 25-23 advantage.
The Buckaroos continued to stay out in front in the second half, but the Spartans cut the deficit to 38-37 when Patton knocked down another 3-point shot.
That was as close as Spring Creek got, as Lowry scored the first eight points of the fourth quarter to open a nine-point lead at 45-36. The Buckaroos went on to outscore the Spartans 22-11 in the final eight minutes.
"Jacob (VonAspern) came in and gave us good minutes in the fourth quarter," Peters said. We didn't get to the foul line very much and didn't shoot the ball well, but we played hard. The intensity was there and we didn't have that in the first game. It will be interesting when we play them again."
Lowry (13-3 Division I-A North, 18-8 overall) had four players in double figures and Nathan Lutzow led the way with 15 points and 11 rebounds. Guerrero finished with 11 points, three assists, one steal and one block. Sterling Dennis and Garrett Naveran had 10 points apiece and Naveran contributed six rebounds, five steals and three blocks. Christian Gray scored seven and Jared Taylor, Thomas Schwartz and VonAspern had two points apiece.
For the past several years, Lowry and Elko have dominated the landscape of northern Nevada basketball. Both clubs have been atop the standings and have made a number of state tournament appearances in recent years.
The two rivals got back together last Saturday in Elko, with the Indians winning 58-37.
"The first time we played them we went in with the mentality that we couldn't beat them," Peters said. "We came and played much better and the effort was there. We gave a layup at the end of the first quarter and they make a 3-pointer at the halftime buzzer. What should be a four-point game was nine. But, that is why you play to the buzzer and you get out on someone and guard them. They were opportunistic and we were not."
Lowry picked up a pair of free throws from Naveran to lead 7-5 midway through the first quarter and a 3-pointer by Guerrero kept the Buckaroos ahead 10-8. The Indians answered back with the four points to lead 12-10.
The two schools traded baskets to start the second quarter, when Elko went on a run to go in front 20-13, forcing Lowry to call timeout. Trailing 24-16, Dennis countered with four points to bring the Buckaroos with six points at 26-20, when the Indians hit the 3-pointer to end the half.
Elko took over the contest, scoring the final 12 points of the third quarter to lead 43-24 and the Indians held the double-digit lead the rest of the way.
"The nice was that we didn't come out play like we were already second place," Peters said. "We came out like we can compete with and do some things. They used a five minute stretch and destroyed us. We played well for 27 minutes and had a bad five minutes. You can't do that against a good team."
Naveran led Lowry with eight points, five rebounds and three steals and Guerrero and Lutzow had six points apiece. Gray scored five and Chris Tyree and VonAspern had two each.
Lowry travels to Fallon this weekend for the Division I-A Regional Championships. The Buckaroos will face Spring Creek today at 4:40 p.m. for a chance at a seventh straight state tournament appearance. Elko will play Churchill County in the other semifinal at 8 p.m.
"I have a feeling that Spring Creek may change a few things up this time," Peters said. "I like where we are. We are 13-3 and very happy about that. If you told me that we would finish 13-3 in league play, I would have called you crazy. I am OK with where we finished. We have an opportunity to beat a good Spring Creek team and get back to the state tournament for the seventh time in a row. That is a great accomplishment to have. Very few teams do that expect for Bishop Gorman and Pahranagat Valley. I would like another chance at Elko, but our concern is Spring Creek and winning that game to get to the state tournament."
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