Robert Perea, The Fernley Reporter
With injuries to a couple of their key players leaving them shorthanded to start the season, and a couple of big losses putting them in a hole to start league play, many people may have written off the Fernley High School boys basketball team.
After a big win over Lowry Thursday night, the Vaqueros may have made most of those skeptics throw away those notes.
The Vaqueros led for much of the game, then used a dominating fourth quarter to pull away for a 66-55 win over Lowry. It was the first game of the season for sophomore point guard Isaac O’Neill, who had suffered a broken foot during soccer season, and the first time all season that the Vaqueros’ projected starting lineup were all together and available to play.
“It was really good to see Isaac back playing,” coach Derek Miller said.
O’Neill and Drew Miller had both missed most of the first half of the season, including a 100-49 loss at Lowry to open league play on Dec. 10.
While O’Neill accounted for six points and two assists, and Miller tallied five points with seven rebounds, their presence helped open the floor, allowing leading scorer Carson Kingston to pour in 26 points. Tucker Hall added 14, and both Kingston and Hall hit big 3-pointers during the fourth quarter while the Vaqueros were taking control of the game.
“The boys played with a lot of energy and cut down on the amount of mistakes we made,” Derek Miller said. “Everyone played a huge role in getting the win.”
The win moved the Vaqueros above .500 in league play for the first time this season at 6-5. Although they remain in fifth place, they moved within one game of South Tahoe for fourth place, and within a game and a half of Lowry in third.
“We still have a lot of things we can improve on, but I was pleased with how we played,” Miller said.
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