The Lowry High School boys basketball team started a three game home stand at Pat Hart Court last Thursday against Carson City from the 4A division, and they sent the Senators back to the capitol with a 68-38 loss.
“We scheduled this game against Carson as an ice-breaker to knock the edges off a little bit and square things up before we face South Tahoe on Friday,” head coach Chad Peters said after the game.
The Senators got on the board first, but the Buckaroos tore off the next twelve points unopposed, which included three pointers by Michael Casalez and Brendan Domire.
"We had three turnovers on our first three possessions, but we only had eleven more the rest of the game," Peters said. "We did a really nice job of picking up our defensive intensity. We held a 4A school to 38 points, that is always a nice accomplishment, and they only had one guy in double digits. We were really aggressive coming off of a two week break, especially for a game with no band and no cheerleaders; we made our own intensity and motivated ourselves to get a good win tonight.”
It was 19-6 Lowry at the end of one, but they struggled a little in the second, when the Bucks allowed Carson to outscore them 12-9, making it 28-18 at the half.
In the third quarter Lowry turned it on, scoring 21 points while holding the Senators to just three buckets and two free throws in the period, bringing it to 49-27.
“We did a good job of going to our strengths, our big guys,” Peters said. “Kobe (Stoker) set the tone early, he had 17 offensive rebounds. That is basically just loose balls that we went and got, I am really proud of that.”
The Buckaroo bench continued the onslaught in the fourth, outscoring Carson 19-11 to secure the win.
“The guys that came off the bench in the fourth quarter did a real nice job,” Peters said. “We got to rest some starters tonight and got some good time in for the second string.”
Stoker was high point man (18) in addition to his boards, Domire had 13 with three 3-pointers, and Dorsey Naveran brought home 11 points with a three of his own.
“We have to come out with the same defensive intensity against South Tahoe and crash the boards. If we can get a win tomorrow and a win against Dayton on Saturday, we’re 5-1 in league and we’re sitting really good.”
On Friday, South Tahoe came to town, and the Vikings were sent back to the lake with a 75-67 loss.
“Talk about a tale of two nights,” Peters said. “We think that we have an advantage because we are so big that we can just pound it inside. We found out tonight that if you can’t come out and guard their guards you have a problem. We looked slow and lethargic and they just went right by us.”
The Buckaroos got off to a slow start and were down 20-15 at the end of one, and down 36-33 at halftime.
“The best part about tonight is that the last two years that is a game that we would have lost," Peters said. "But tonight, the group that was on the floor at the end of the second quarter, our second group, not the starters because they were all in foul trouble, cut if from nine to three. They are as much a part of that win as the kids that were on the floor at the end of the game. If that is a nine point game at halftime, it is a total different story; three is manageable.”
Lowry turned it up a notch in the third, out-scoring the Vikings 21-13 to take the lead.
“Once we got that five point lead in the third quarter we kind of stayed there and kept it going after that,” Peters said. “Tell me that free throws are not important. We were ten for thirteen from the line in the fourth quarter; that carried us. An ugly win is better than a loss, so we are going to take our ugly home win and be very thankful.”
Lowry senior Oscar Juanes commented after the game on Friday, “It wasn’t our best performance tonight, but at the end of the game we had each other’s back and we were here to play tonight. Our team has a lot of talent and a lot of athleticism. If we keep it up we can hang with everybody else in the league, then we should be ok.”
On Saturday against Dayton the Bucks had an easier time of it, jumping out to an early lead and never looking back on their way to a 52-38 victory over the Dust Devils.
“We won the first two quarters and had a nice little lead at halftime, and we did a nice job of playing smart down the stretch at home," added the coach. "We had some really good minutes from a lot of guys tonight. I thought the three point shot by Domire from the corner, and then his layup and a free throw off the foul, giving us six points in a row, right there is a huge momentum swing. He was getting his hands on balls and being active, being aggressive; he played a good game tonight.”
Lowry now sits at 8-3 overall and 5-1 in league play.
The Bucks head off to Churchill County (Fallon) for a 7:30 p.m contest on Friday.
“We have another tough road game now, we have to go to Fallon,” Peters concluded. “We are going to come out and see what we can do; we are going to see Fallon hopefully a couple of times this year after this one.”
Reed High School hosts Lowry on Saturday, Jan. 12 at 1 p.m. A pair of home games are next on the slate for the Buckaroos, hosting Fernley on Friday, Jan. 18 at 7:30 p.m., and Sparks comes to town on Saturday, Jan. 19 for a 2:30 p.m. game.
