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Friday, January 9, 2026 at 11:40 PM

Vaqueros bounce back from tournament loss with win in league opener

Vaqueros bounce back from tournament loss with win in league opener
Fernley’s Bryce Dunagan-Stephens drives to the basket during the Jan. 2 game against Lowry in
Fernley. Photo by John Baker

While his team was warming up on the floor before their game against Lowry last Friday night, Fernley boys basketball coach Cade Knutson was anxious to see how they would react to what he considered their first poor outing of the season their last time on the floor.

The Vaqueros were preparing for their first league game, but also just three days removed from a 78-40 loss to Huntington Beach (CA) Edison in the last game of the Holiday Classic in San Diego. The Vaqueros had made it to the fifth-place game of the tournament, but were blasted by the Chargers.

“I told these guys, if they’re anything like me, they can’t wait to get back out there and get that taste out of their mouth,” Knutson said.

Dominating the middle two quarters, the Vaqueros left savoring the taste of victory for the 11th time this season, starting league play with a 67-36 win over the Buckaroos.

Bryce Dunagan-Stephens led the Vaqueros with 25 points, including a flurry in the second quarter where he hit three 3-pointers while Fernley was outscoring Lowry 21-9. Stephens had seven more points in the third quarter, where Fernley outscored Lowry 20-7 to extend its lead to 57-26.

A basket by Stephens with 5:56 left in the game put the game into a running clock the rest of the way with a 51-26 lead, and the Vaqueros led by as much as 67-30 before Lowry scored the last six points of the game.

Sheldon Jacobson added nine points for Fernley, Mike Fitzgerald and Skyler Ledesma-James both had six points and Nolan Berreman, Keland Ketelaar and Bodie Parsons each scored five.

The Vaqueros were 11-4 overall, 1-0 in the Northern 3A entering Tuesday’s game against Fallon. They finish the week with their eastern road trip, facing Elko at 7:30 p.m. Friday and Spring Creek at 2:30 p.m. Saturday.


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