The Lowry High School boys basketball team got a short Christmas break before playing in the Rail City Classic from Dec. 27-29 at Sparks High School.
The Buckaroos picked up one win in their three-day stay and not stand at 6-6 overall and 4-0 in the Northern 3A.
McQueen 62,
Lowry 31
Lowry opened the tournament on Tuesday, Dec. 27, with a 62-31 loss to McQueen of the Northern 5A.
The Buckaroos scored six of the first eight points of the contest including the opening bucket by Dempsey Jenkins and a 3-pointer by Jordan Bills.
However, the Lancers finished the first quarter off with a 12-0 run and did not trail again.
A bucket by Kayson Garner cut the deficit to 14-10 with five minutes left in the first half, but McQueen used another run — this time a 12-2 spurt to lead 26-12 at halftime.
Bills opened the third quarter for the Buckaroos with a 3-pointers to close the gap to 11 points, when McQueen finished the quarter on a 15-2 run to go in front 43-21.
McQueen went on to outscore Lowry 19-10 in the final eight minutes.
Lowry 55,
Hug 30
In its first game on Wednesday, Dec. 28, Lowry met up with Northern 3A foe Hug. When the two teams played on Dec. 14, Lowry scored the final 14 points to win 53-49.
This match-up was nearly as close, as the Buckaroos routed the Hawks 55-30.
Lowry scored the first 13 points of the fame with three buckets from Lance Brinegar and one from Bills. The Buckaroos eventually led 15-3 after the first eight minutes of play.
Brinegar and Matthew Casalez knocked down back-to-back 3-pointers in the second quarter to put the Buckaroos in front 27-10 and Bills made a 3-pointer to end the first half to give Lowry a 32-15 lead at the break.
The margin grew to 22 points at 39-17, as Jenkins netted the first seven points of the third quarter for Lowry. The Buckaroos did not see the lead fall below 18 points the rest of the way.
Fernley 63,
Lowry 36
In its second game on Wednesday, Dec, 28, Lowry got a look Northern 3A East rival Fernley. The Vaqueros dominated from the start in the 63-36 victory.
The two teams will meet up in league play on Jan. 14 in Fernley.
The Vaqueros led 32-17 at halftime and scored the first seven points of the second half, when Isaac Danner ended the run with an old-fashioned 3-point play.
Fernley outscored Lowry 20-9 in the third quarter to push the advantage to 52-26.
The Vaqueros led by as many as 30 points at 60-30 in the fourth quarter.
Shasta 64,
Lowry 47
In the fifth-place game on Thursday, Dec. 29, Shasta jumped out to a quick lead and then held on for a 64-47 win.
The teams traded buckets in the early going of the first quarter when Shasta turned a 7-5 deficit into a 18-7 lead after scoring the final 13 points of the opening quarter.
The Buckaroos closed the gap to 18-11 with the first two baskets of the second quarter, but Shasta closed out the first half on a 15-4 run.
After scoring just 15 points in the first half, Lowry found its offensive momentum out of halftime, outscoring Shasta 21-11. Brinegar hit a 3-pointer as time expired in the third quarter to cut the gap to 44-36.
The Buckaroos kept the gap at eight points early in the fourth quarter, when Shasta slowly pulled away in the final eight minutes.
Lowry begins play in the Northern 3A East when it hosts Churchill County on Thursday at 7:30 p.m.