WINNEMUCCA - The Lowry High School junior varsity boys basketball team remained perfect in Division 1-A play with a pair of wins this past weekend.
The Buckaroos (10-2 overall, 4-0 Division I-A) went on the road Friday and beat Fernley 79-38 and returned home on Saturday and knocked off Churchill County 56-41.
It looked as if Lowry was going to run away from Churchill County as Christian Gray hit a 3-point field goal, beginning an 11-0 run for the Buckaroos to start the game. Freshman Omar Guerrero also had four points during the quick start to the day.
"I wanted us to come out with some good intensity and we did that," said LHS head coach Jeff Rinas. "We just have to be able to maintain that same intensity for four full quarters."
The Greenwave scored the next six points, only to see the Buckaroos close out the opening period with 11 straight points. Gray contributed eight points at the end of the quarter and the sophomore scored 11 of his game-high 19 points in the first eight minutes of play.
Lowry couldn't hold on to the momentum in the second quarter, as Churchill County rallied to cut the deficit to eight points. The Buckaroos made just two field goals in the period.
In a near carbon-copy of the opening quarter, the Buckaroos came out of the halftime break and broke the game open once again. Roberto Sanchez broke loose for 10 points in the third quarter and Guerrero and Chris Tyree added five and four points, respectively, to help Lowry build a 50-26 advantage.
Sanchez contributed 14 points on the day, Guerrero added eight, Tyree five, Dawson Cassinelli and Dennis four each and Thomas Schwartz two.
"We didn't handle the pressure very well at times and I know we are going to see other teams press us," Rinas said. "We just made some silly mistakes that we didn't need to."
At Fernley, every Lowry player that dressed out scored in the 41-point victory, which included a running clock in the fourth quarter due to the 40-point mercy rule.
Sanchez collected 11 of his 15 points in the first quarter and Dennis and Gray added four points each as the Buckaroos raced out to a 24-8 lead.
Lowry hit a lapse in the second quarter, with Fernley going on a 19-10 run to close the gap to seven points at halftime.
"It was the first night where we came ready to play ball from start to finish," Rinas said. "We got after it from the get go and just took it to Fernley. We only had 11 turnovers and we ran our offense well."
That was as close as the Vaqueros got as the Buckaroos allowed Fernley to make just three field goals in the second half and none in the final eight minutes of play.
Lowry outscored Fernley 45-11 in the second half, including a 24-2 run in the fourth quarter.
The Buckaroos had four players reach double figures, including Gray with 16, Sanchez 15, Guerrero 14 and Cassinelli 10. Schwartz added six points, Luke Logan, Dennis and Tyree four each and Josh Rose, Jacob Von Aspern and Kyle Tarr had two points apiece.
Over the Christmas break Lowry traveled to Reno for the State Farm Invitational at Damonte Ranch and split four games against Division I North schools.
The Buckaroos played Damonte Ranch on Thursday, Dec. 27, and won 44-37. Later on the same day, Lowry used a fourth-quarter comeback to knock off Spanish Springs 53-50. In the semifinals on Friday, Dec. 28, Lowry suffered its first loss of the season, falling 56-51 to Galena. The Buckaroos lost the third-place game 58-47 to Douglas on Saturday, Dec. 29.
"We played pretty good against some bigger schools," Rinas said. "It's always interesting to see how we do. The kids kept it together and we got a couple of wins. We came out and were not flat and we handled our stuff. Our defense is what has been winning us games. The kids have been playing their butts off and I am proud of them."
Lowry pulled out to a 17-15 lead at halftime over Damonte Ranch, but it was a 14-9 run in the third quarter by the Buckaroos which proved to be the difference.
Gray and Guerrero led all scorers with 16 and 12 points, respectively. Dennis finished with eight points, Sanchez four, Cassinelli three and Tyree one.
Playing its second game in the same day, Lowry had to overcome a six-point deficit to Spanish Springs. The Cougars held the lead from the start, but the Buckaroos rallied in the fourth quarter with a 19-9 run to cap off the come-from-behind victory.
"The fourth quarter is which won it for us," Rinas said. "We cranked it up and were able to get the win. Spanish Springs had some big and physical kids and we had to fight through all that. I was pleased that the kids stayed composed and they were able to come back."
The Cougars had a tough time stopping Gray, who finished with a game-high 22 points. Cassinelli joined him in double figures with 12 points, Sanchez added five, Dennis and Schwartz four each and Tyree two.
Lowry put itself into a 10-point hole in the first quarter against Galena and was not able to overcome the deficit this time.
Guerrero scored 12 of his 16 points in the second quarter helping the Buckaroos pull within a point of the Grizzlies by halftime.
"We got down early but still made a game of it," added the coach. "It is a game we could have won and Galena is beatable. We just made some mental mistakes at times that cost us the game. Galena has one of the better programs in the north and we were right there with them."
Galena stretched the advantage to five points at the start of the fourth quarter and was able to keep the same margin throughout the final eight minutes of the game.
Sanchez also scored 16 points for Lowry, while Dennis scored eight, Gray four, Von Aspern three and Cassinelli and Tyree two each.
In the tournament finale, Lowry jumped out to a 13-10 advantage over Douglas in the first quarter, but the Tigers broke the game open in the second and third quarters with a 34-22 run and the Buckaroos were not able to overcome the deficit.
Gray and Sanchez led Lowry with 15 and 14 points, respectively. Dennis collected six points, Guerrero four, Rose, Von Aspern and Logan two each and Cassinelli and Tyree had one point apiece.
"We showed we can compete with any team that we play," Rinas said. "We had a chance to win all four games we played."
Lowry is back in action on Friday when it hosts Dayton at 4:30 p.m. The Buckaroos make the trip to South Tahoe on Saturday for a 1:30 p.m. tipoff.
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