The Lowry High School boys basketball team had an opportunity to solidify it spot in the playoff race with a win over Spring Creek on Tuesday night in Winnemucca.
The Buckaroos are holding the sixth and final playoff berth for the regional tournament that will be played in Winnemucca from Feb. 16-18. Lowry could not help itself as the Spartans completed the season sweep with a 54-44 win. However, the Buckaroos received some help as Churchill County lost to Sparks on Tuesday night. It was the first league win of the season for the Railroaders. Currently, Churchill County is fifth at 6-7 and Lowry is sixth at 4-7.
“We let their big guys dominate inside,” said LHS coach Chad Peters. “Tonight was a weird game. It was like we were never really in it, but never out of it. We would cut it to five or seven points, but could not really get back in it. I thought our big guys did a much better job in the second half.”
After trading the first two baskets, Lowry went scoreless for over four minutes, as Spring Creek scored eight points in a row to break away with a 10-2 lead. Ren Mattson finally broke the streak with a baseline jump shot with 50 seconds left in the opening quarter.
The Spartans led 19-8 midway through the second quarter, when the Buckaroos picked up a burst of momentum from Darian Solis and Riley Sakurada. The duo combined to score the last eight points to bring the Buckaroos within five points at 25-20 at halftime.
“Riley and Darian gave us a nice spark at the end of the half,” Peters said. “We were not having much luck on offense to that point. I thought Ren came in and gave us some good minutes tonight.”
A pair of free throws to start the third quarter brought Lowry within three points at 25-22, but Spring Creek responded with an 11-3 run to push the gap back to double figures at 36-25. The Spartans outscored the Buckaroos 14-8 in the third quarter to lead 39-28.
“We work hard and then our brain quits working,” Peters said. We get our brain working again and we are tired. We do not get the bounce we need or get to the 50/50 ball.”
Spring Creek scored the first five points of the fourth quarter and led by as many as 16 points at 48-32. Sophomore Brendan Domire went on a personal 8-0 run that brought Lowry within 12 points at 53-41 with 2:10 to go. Domire was the high-scorer for Lowry with 11 points.
“Brendan is getting better every time out,” Peters said. “He just needs time on the floor and not be worried about making a mistake.”
Naveran and Sakurada each had eight points, Solis six, Kobe Stoker three and Dom Solis, Jed Teichert, Brady Lange and Mattson two each.
Elko currently leads the league with a 10-1 record, while South Tahoe is second at 10-2. Fernley and Spring Creek are tied for third at 9-3 and play each other this weekend in Spring Creek.
“The bottom line is we have to keep battling,” Peters said.
Lowry played at Dayton on Friday and results were not available at press time. The Buckaroos take on South Tahoe today (Saturday) at 2:30 p.m. The regular season home finale is Tuesday against Elko at 7:30 p.m.
The Buckaroos are holding the sixth and final playoff berth for the regional tournament that will be played in Winnemucca from Feb. 16-18. Lowry could not help itself as the Spartans completed the season sweep with a 54-44 win. However, the Buckaroos received some help as Churchill County lost to Sparks on Tuesday night. It was the first league win of the season for the Railroaders. Currently, Churchill County is fifth at 6-7 and Lowry is sixth at 4-7.
“We let their big guys dominate inside,” said LHS coach Chad Peters. “Tonight was a weird game. It was like we were never really in it, but never out of it. We would cut it to five or seven points, but could not really get back in it. I thought our big guys did a much better job in the second half.”
After trading the first two baskets, Lowry went scoreless for over four minutes, as Spring Creek scored eight points in a row to break away with a 10-2 lead. Ren Mattson finally broke the streak with a baseline jump shot with 50 seconds left in the opening quarter.
The Spartans led 19-8 midway through the second quarter, when the Buckaroos picked up a burst of momentum from Darian Solis and Riley Sakurada. The duo combined to score the last eight points to bring the Buckaroos within five points at 25-20 at halftime.
“Riley and Darian gave us a nice spark at the end of the half,” Peters said. “We were not having much luck on offense to that point. I thought Ren came in and gave us some good minutes tonight.”
A pair of free throws to start the third quarter brought Lowry within three points at 25-22, but Spring Creek responded with an 11-3 run to push the gap back to double figures at 36-25. The Spartans outscored the Buckaroos 14-8 in the third quarter to lead 39-28.
“We work hard and then our brain quits working,” Peters said. We get our brain working again and we are tired. We do not get the bounce we need or get to the 50/50 ball.”
Spring Creek scored the first five points of the fourth quarter and led by as many as 16 points at 48-32. Sophomore Brendan Domire went on a personal 8-0 run that brought Lowry within 12 points at 53-41 with 2:10 to go. Domire was the high-scorer for Lowry with 11 points.
“Brendan is getting better every time out,” Peters said. “He just needs time on the floor and not be worried about making a mistake.”
Naveran and Sakurada each had eight points, Solis six, Kobe Stoker three and Dom Solis, Jed Teichert, Brady Lange and Mattson two each.
Elko currently leads the league with a 10-1 record, while South Tahoe is second at 10-2. Fernley and Spring Creek are tied for third at 9-3 and play each other this weekend in Spring Creek.
“The bottom line is we have to keep battling,” Peters said.
Lowry played at Dayton on Friday and results were not available at press time. The Buckaroos take on South Tahoe today (Saturday) at 2:30 p.m. The regular season home finale is Tuesday against Elko at 7:30 p.m.
