It was a busy Christmas break for the Lowry High School boys basketball team with five games last week. The Buckaroos too part in the annual Rail City Classic and added another contest at Douglas High School, which was not part of the tournament.
Lowry went to 2-3 in the five games and placed fifth in the Rail City Classic.
The Buckaroos opened up the tournament on Tuesday, Dec. 28, against Yerington, one of the top teams in the 2A division.
The Lions grabbed an early-first-quarter lead and hung on for a 54-47 victory.
The contest was tied at 17 at halftime, when Yerington used an 18-12 run in the third quarter and never gave the lead up.
Later on, Dec. 28, Lowry made the short trip to Minden to take on Douglas in a non-conference meeting. The Buckaroos found it tough sledding on offense, scoring single digits in every quarter in the 66-25 loss to the Tigers.
Douglas grabbed a 16-4 advantage after eight minutes of play and extended the lead to 29-8 at halftime. After scoring just eight points in the first half, Lowry put up nine points in the third quarter but still trailed 49-17.
Lowry jumped back into tournament play on Wednesday, Dec. 29, to take on Hug. The two teams met in Winnemucca on Dec. 17, with the Buckaroos winning 56-38. If was nearly the same outcome in Sparks, as Lowry beat Hug 56-35.
In its second game on Dec. 30, Lowry met up with McQueen and the Lancers held on for a 49-36 win. McQueen went on to win the tournament championship against Fernley.
In the tournament finale, Lowry took on host Sparks and needed overtime to beat the Railroaders 50-48.
The two teams played on Dec. 11 in Sparks, with Lowry leading 34-2 at halftime and winning 54-19. However, Sparks was without a number of players in that contest.
With a more complete squad, Sparks used a 12-9 run in the second quarter to lead 21-20 at halftime. The Lowry defense made a stand in the third quarter and held Sparks to just six points in taking a 30-27 lead.
The Railroaders rallied in the fourth quarter to send the game to overtime at 44 apiece, but the Buckaroos held off the upset bid for the two-point victory in the Brickhouse.
Lowry (7-5) begins Northern 3A East play in Fallon on Friday against Churchill County at 7:30 p.m.
The Buckaroos return home on Friday, Jan. 14, to play Dayton at 7:30 p.m. and Fernley on Saturday, Jan. 15, at 2:30 p.m.
