After dropping the ball in their first two games of the season back in November, the Lowry High School boys basketball team has turned it on now, winning both of their games last weekend to go to 9-2 in league play and 12-5 overall.
On Friday, at North Valleys High School in Reno, the Buckaroos downed the Panthers in their own house 60-46.
“Friday night was a crazy game at North Valleys,” said Lowry head coach Chad Peters. “We won all four quarters, but with only 5:30 left in the game, we were only up 41-40, it was a one point game. They rolled off nine points on us in a row to catch up. We then had our own nine point run to make it 50-40, and then we finished the game on a 19-6 run."
The Buckaroos led 12-8 after the first quarter, and 23-18 at the half.
Lowry outscored North Valleys 16-12 in the third, and 21-16 in the fourth, although it was not as easy for them as it looked on the boxscore.
"It was a good gut check for us, letting us know that we can’t get complacent," Peters said. "With the three point shot these days, three shots can diminish a ten point lead. We have to do a better job of not letting guys go on runs against us and getting comfortable shooting. Brendan (Domire) did play extremely well in the second half. He had several steals and 12 of his 23 points were in the fourth quarter. His defense led to his offense.”
Lowry cruises past Truckee in low-scoring affair
On Saturday Lowry traveled to Truckee and took down the Wolverines 47-22 in a game that started slow, but saw the Buckaroos come on strong in the second half.
“We did pretty good on Saturday," added the coach. "They tried to slow it down on us, not shooting the ball and holding onto it to keep the score down.”
Lowry led 7-5 after the first quarter, and held a 16-8 lead at the half.
“Defensively we did a really nice job. Anytime that you can hold a team to eight points in the first half; that is pretty solid,” Peters said. “We didn’t do a very good job of shooting and scoring in the first half. But, we are winning quarters and playing good D. We are doing all of the things that we have asked our kids to do. Oscar (Juanes) had a really good second half on Saturday. He sparked a few plays defensively that resulted in us getting a few points. We have never been a team that likes to shoot a lot of threes. We like to pound it inside and go to our big guys.”
The Bucks have Kobe Stoker averaging 14 points per game and 8 rebounds, while Dorsey Naveran grabs 10 boards and 8 p.p.g. Lowry is shooting 41 percent from the field as a team on the year, and they average 58 points per game with 34 rebounds each contest.
“We always try and hold our opponents under 40 points per game," Peters said. "We feel like we can average 45 or 50 points and win most of our games. We don’t shoot a lot of outside shots, so we should probably be shooting 50 percent or higher.”
Lowry returns home to take on Spring Creek Friday at 7:30 p.m.
League-leading Elko comes to town on Saturday for a 2:30 p.m. tipoff. The Indians are undefeated in the Northern 3A
“We are undefeated at home this year and we want to keep it that way,” Peters said. “Friday night is a ‘White-Out’, and Saturday is a ‘Black-Out’. Everyone should wear white to the game on Friday and black to the game Saturday. It is Winterfest Week at Lowry starting on Monday Jan. 28. We will be practicing at 5 a.m. this week so that the kids can go and do the high school activities.”
The Bucks will take on Churchill County (Fallon) in their last home game of the year on Tuesday, Feb. 5. The Greenwave are second in the Northern 3A and have lost just one game this year — a 98-92 double overtime defeat in Elko.
"Fallon, Elko, and us have separated ourselves from the rest of the league at this point," Peters said. "We still have a lot of work to do, but we should finish in the top three if we stay focused. I encourage everyone to come out this week and enjoy all of the Winterfest activities. It is a fun, exciting week at Lowry High. The kids enjoy it and the crowd is going to be great at the games.”
Elko leads the Northern 3A at 11-0, with Churchill County in second at 11-1. The two teams play this Friday in Fallon.
Lowry is comfortably in third place at 9-2. South Tahoe and Fernley are tied for fourth at 6-6 and Dayton is sixth at 5-6. North Valleys and Spring Creek are a game behind Dayton at 4-7.
A four-game road trip ends the regular season for the Bucks, going to South Tahoe Feb. 8, Dayton Feb. 9, Fernley Feb. 15, and Sparks Feb. 16.
The boys 3A Quarterfinals will be held Feb. 21-23 at North Valleys with the top six teams in league play qualifying. The top two teams receive a bye in the opening round.
The NIAA State Championships will be held March 1-2 at the Orleans Arena in Las Vegas.
