WINNEMUCCA - If the first game is any indication, the Lowry High School junior varsity team is going to be a fun group to watch.
The Buckaroos overcame a five-point deficit in the fourth quarter against Reno on Saturday night and outscored the Huskies 10-3 in overtime to win their season opener 53-46.
"It was a good win for us," said LHS head coach Jeff Rinas. "We got off to a slow start and was just sluggish on the offensive side of the ball. We got ourselves in foul trouble and we weren't playing our game. Once we settled down we played OK."
Lowry entered the fourth quarter trailing Reno 31-26, when Jared Taylor and Omar Guerrero combined for all 17 points for the Buckaroos in the final eight minutes of regulation. Taylor scored four of the first five baskets in the fourth quarter, giving Lowry a 41-35 lead and capping off a 15-4 run.
Reno scored the next five points to cut the Buckaroo lead to a point with 1:41 left to play. Lowry had a chance to increase its lead but missed a pair of free throws with 51 seconds to play. The Buckaroos did cash in on two free throws by Guerrero with 18 seconds to play.
However, the Huskies had an answer, hitting a 3-point shot that banked in off the glass with four seconds to tie the game. The Buckaroos got one last look at a shot as time expired but it bounced off the rim.
The extra four minutes belonged to Lowry as Nathan Lutzow started the period with two free throws and Taylor connected on a basket to make the score 47-43.
Reno followed with a 3-point play to cut the margin to a point, but did not score the rest of the way as Lowry went 6-of-6 from the free throw line in the final two minutes of the game. The Buckaroos were a perfect 8-of-8 from the foul line in overtime and was 17-of-22 in the second half.
"Defense and free throws won it for us," Rinas said. "The kids kept their composure at the end and picked up a good win. They could have easily thrown it in when things weren't going good in the first half. Hopefully, we got the jitters out."
Both teams struggled throughout the first half with both teams combining for just 23 points through the first 14 minutes of action. After leading for much of the game, it took the Huskies nearly six minutes to score in the second quarter.
Trailing 9-8 after the first eight minutes of play, Chris Tyree and Jacob Hales gave the Buckaroos a 12-9 lead after back-to-back baskets. Lowry went into halftime with an 18-15 lead on the strength of a 3-point field goal by Trey Marriott late in the first half.
Reno exceeded its first half total with 16 points in the third quarter to reclaim the advantage. A basket by Taylor gave the Buckaroos a 26-23 lead, but the Huskies scored the final eight points of the third quarter.
"It started getting a little wild at the end, but we held our composure," said the coach. "We did a good job of holding them to 15 points in the first half."
Taylor and Guerrero led Lowry with 22 and 15 points, respectively.
"Both of those guys stepped up in the fourth quarter and overtime," Rinas said. "They scored 27 of our last 29 points and made 13-of-14 free throws."
Lutzow added four points. Marriott and Tyree three each and Dominic Diaz Jacob Von Aspern and Hales had two points apiece.
On Thursday, Lowry travels to Reno for the Damonte Ranch Winter Classic. The Buckaroos play McQueen at 4 p.m. on Thursday at Damonte Ranch High School. Game times on Friday and Saturday are to be determined.
"We have some things to work on and we have some tough games ahead of us," Rinas said. "We have McQueen right off the bat. It will be a good tournament for us. Games like we are going to play will only make us better."[[In-content Ad]]
