Fallon center Braxton Hunter scores an easy layup during the Wave's 44-40 loss to Lowry on Saturday.
Turnovers were the difference.
Fallon’s fourth-quarter rally was stymied by a trio of turnovers in the final 3 minutes as the Lowry boys basketball team held on for a 44-40 Northern Division I-A win on Saturday at the Elmo Dericco Gym.
Trailing 38-27 early in the fourth quarter, Fallon made its move.
Connor Richardson and Jeff Evett combined for three points and a 3-pointer by Ettore Neiderauer cut the deficit to 39-33. Riding the momentum, Richardson stole an outlet pass by tipping the ball over the Lowry player and drove to the hoop for the basket and a foul.
After Richardson converted the free throw, Clay Davison forced a steal and fed Evett for a layup to trim the lead to 39-38. Richardson then gave Fallon its first lead since 4-0 in the first period with 1:21 remaining in the game.
“We were in a desperate situation and had to come out some pressure on them so we tried to half-court press them,” Barton said. “The guys came out and executed really well … and gave ourselves a chance to be in the basketball game.
Fallon, though, could have extended its lead further in the final minutes, but a pair of turnovers by Dylan Ridenour and one with 25 seconds left by Neiderauer put the Buckaroos on the free throw line.
After regaining the lead on a basket by Christian Gray, Lowry intercepted Neiderauer’s pass attempting to thread the needle through the Buckaroos 2-3 zone. Sterling Dennis stole the ball, hit a pair of free throws and after a Fallon missed shot and Lowry rebound, Nathan Lutzow sealed the win with a free throw with 11 seconds left.
“They set up the zone, we had the turnover and that was the end of the game,” Barton said.
“We did some things to help them out,” Lowry coach Chad Peters added. “The big thing was that we withstood the run, gathered ourselves and came back. Thank God we made free throws down the stretch. We never panicked. We had some good mental focus late, which was nice to see. When you hold a good team like Fallon to 40 points, you are doing a good job.”
Fallon, meanwhile, struggled early in the game to convert open looks. Likewise, Lowry was unable to find a groove as the Buckaroos held a 7-4 lead.
The Wave started to pick up their game in the second quarter Evett, Ridenour and Braxton Hunter lifted the offense.
“The offense was moving, but the shots weren’t falling,” Barton said. “We were getting good looks at the rim, and it just seemed like there was a lid on it.”
Lowry, though, was able to rely on the perimeter shooting of Omar Guerrero, who led all scorers with 15 points including three 3-pointers.
It was another escape by Lowry in recent games to keep its perfect league record in tact.
In its prior four games, Lowry needed overtime to beat Truckee (57-50), slipped past Sparks (58-54) and rallied past Fernley (63-51).
Evett, though, lead Fallon with a team-high 13 points, while Richardson added eight.
With the loss, Fallon drops to fifth place in league play trailing Spring Creek (5-2, 7-7) and South Tahoe (4-2, 8-7) for the final two playoff spots.
Fallon, though, hosts Sparks (0-5, 4-9) on Friday and South Tahoe on Saturday.
Wave drops Dayton
Fallon opened last weekend with a 63-48 win at Dayton.
The Wave raced out to an 18-8 first quarter lead, although the Dust Devils sliced the deficit to 43-36 at the end of the third quarter.
Fallon kept its cool and took control of the final period by outscoring Dayton 20-12 to seal the win.
Davison led Fallon with 13 points followed by Evett with 12 and Richardson with 11.
Humboldt Sun reporter Tony Erquiaga contributed to this report.