After struggling at the beginning of the season and missing out on the playoffs for a second consecutive season, the Lowry High School boys basketball team now finds itself in the middle of the postseason hunt.
The Buckaroos evened their Northern 3A record at 6-6, with a pair of home wins this past weekend. Lowry defeated Sparks 65-35 on Friday night and doubled up Truckee 52-26 on Saturday afternoon. The Buckaroos hold the sixth and final playoff berth but are just two games out of second place in the bunched up Northern 3A.
“Things are starting to come together for us,” said LHS head coach Chad Peters. “We are working hard and playing smarter. That is starting to show on the floor. We are starting to play defense a little better and we held two teams to 26 and 35 points. We are pressuring the ball a lot better and getting a hand in front of the shot. We were not doing that at the beginning of the season.”
Lowry routs Truckee
For a while, it seemed like the only person to score was Lowry sophomore Kobe Stoker. Stoker scored the first 10 points of the game for the Buckaroos, who led the Wolverines 10-1. A layup by Oscar Juanes extended the margin to 12-1, forcing Truckee to call a timeout with 3:35 left in the first quarter.
The Wolverines connected on their only field goal of the opening quarter with 3:21 to play. Brendan Domire scored the final five points of the first quarter, as Lowry led 18-5.
Despite an early basket by Dom Solis to start the second quarter, the offense for the Buckaroos disappeared. The Wolverines went on a 7-0 run to cut the margin to 20-12, when Evan Jeppsen ended the Buckaroos; scoreless streak. Lowry eventually took a 22-15 lead into halftime.
After struggling in the second quarter, the halftime adjustments worked for Lowry. The Buckaroos, behind two 3-point field goals from Domire, quickly scored the first 12 points of the third quarter to go in front 34-15. Solis added four points during the spurt and Stoker had a basket as well.
The Buckaroos scored the final 11 points of the third quarter to complete a 23-2 run that pushed the lead to 45-17. Domire netted seven of the last 11 points, including a 3-pointer, as time expired. Logan Peters and Solis added the other four points. Between the first and third quarters, Lowry outscored Truckee 41-7.
“I was extremely happy with the way we played in the first and third quarters,” Peters said. “But, regardless of who we have on the floor, we still have to get the job done. I would like to have seen us play a little better in the fourth quarter. We are doing a nice job of making adjustments out of halftime and playing well in the third quarter. We are fixing our mistakes, which is nice to see. Our energy was great tonight.”
Domire led all scorers, with 18 points and Stoker added 13, all in the first half. Dom Solis netted eight points, Peters four, Darian Solis three and Kyle Sappington, Ren Mattson and Oscar Juanes each had two points.
Bucks run away
from Railroaders
Lowry began the weekend with a 30-point win over Sparks on Friday and finished the season sweep of the Railroaders.
Stoker scored seven points in the opening eight minutes of play and Juanes added a 3-pointer to give the Buckaroos a 12-5 advantage. The Buckaroos picked up scoring from five different players in the second quarter, including 3-pointers from Shai Welsh and Domire to increase the lead to 29-14 at halftime.
Lowry continued to increase the margin in the second half, with six points from Ren Mattson and five more by Stoker in the third quarter. The Buckaroos closed out the contest on a 17-9 run in the fourth quarter, as seven different players scored.
Stoker and Mattson led Lowry with 19 and 11 points, respectively. Welsh added eight points. Domire seven, Darian Solis and Juanes had six each, Evan Jeppsen four and Peters two.
Dorsey Naveran missed both games over the weekend with an injury and Scottie Smith sat out Saturday’s contest with Truckee with an ankle injury.
“These were big wins for us,” Peters said. “We have been in must-win mode for three weeks. “We had Dorsey and Scottie out but had guys like Logan, Shai, Kyle and Darian step up. The guy I have been pleased with is Ren. He has stepped up and accepted his role. He likes to play outside but we have had to put him inside because he is the biggest guy on the floor. I am proud of how he has taken on that role. The guys are starting to figure we need them and they need to keep them coming along with us.”
Elko leads the Northern 3A at 12-0 and has clinched the No. 1 seed for the regional tournament in Elko from Feb. 15-17.
Churchill County is second at 8-4 and Spring Creek and South Tahoe are tied for third at 7-5. Fernley (6-5) is fifth and Lowry (6-6) is sixth.
Lowry hosts Fernley on Friday at 7:30 p.m. and Churchill County on Saturday at 2:30 p.m.
“This is desperation weekend,” Peters said. “We are still desperate for wins but so is Fernley and Churchill County. You take away Elko and everyone from second to sixth can beat anybody in that group.”
