cINGALLS 47, STAFFORD 39 — Ingalls basketball coach Nathan Lowther earned a head-to-head victory over his alma mater, which was led by Nathan's younger brother Samuel Lowther, who led the Stafford Trojans with 19 points before fouling out.
Ingalls' Lane Lightner scored 15 points and Logan Smith added 12 points for a 47-39 victory over Stafford in Tuesday's Greensburg 1A Div. 2 basketball substate.
Stafford's Jacob Simmons scored 10 points. Stafford scored 21 points off turnovers and outscored the Bulldogs 24-12 in the paint.
"I couldn't get myself to think about coaching against my brother until after the game," Nathan Lowther said. "There were a lot of emotions, the hardest basketball game I've had to coach. There's never been a game where I'm proud of my opponent and the way Samuel brought Stafford back into the ballgame. It was good to see him succeed. But I wanted our team to do well too. It was rough to see when Samuel fouled out."
Ingalls converted 8 of 20 shots from 3-point range to outscore Stafford 24-6 from long range. No. 1 ranked Cunningham (20-0) faces Ingalls (8-14) in a March 3 semifinal.
Nebraska-Kearney graduate Nathan Lowther is a 2020 Stafford High graduate who played football and basketball his senior year after attending Canon City, Colo. for three years. His father Jeff and mother Theresa returned to Stafford in 2019.
The Lowther parents wore mixed and matched Ingalls and Stafford-related outfits. Jeff and Theresa attended as many Ingalls games they could watch when Samuel wasn't playing on the same night.
"It's a once-in-a-lifetime experience. They knew it'd be difficult," he said. "I'm glad we don't have to deal with this again. They were proud of us both no matter the outcome. Dad had a Stafford hat and Ingalls shirt. Mom had an Ingalls hat and Stafford shirt on. Mom. We look up to our parents greatly."
Coach Lowther knew the possibility existed the teams could play when substate sites were announced in December.
"When we played Stafford in our basketball Jamboree, we knew there was a small chance we could play Stafford," Nathan Lowther said.
Ingalls 14 9 9 15 — 47
Stafford 4 7 13 15 — 39
INGALLS (8-14) (FG 3 FT TP)—Lightner 6-9 (3-5) 0-0 15, Logan Simon 4-10 (2-5) 2-4 12, Keegan Nothern 3-3 2-3 8, Langston Nothern 0-3 2-2 2, Ruiz 1-4 (1-3) 0-0 3, Averhoft 0-6 (0-2) 0-0 0, Totals 16-38 (8-20) 7-11 47
STAFFORD (7-13) (FG 3 FT TP)—Samuel Lowther 7-13 (1-3) 3-8 19, Simmons 4-16 (1-6) 1-3 10, Sperry (2-5) 1-2 7, Johnson 1-1 1-2 3, Lima 1-6 (0-3) 0-2 2, Knoche 1-3 (0-2) 0-0 2, Marks 1-8 (0-1) 0-2 2, Beltran 0-5 (0-2) 1-2 1, Totals 15-52 (2-17) 7-19 39
MEADE 60, ST. JOHN 39 — St. John's Braxton Alpers scored 12 points and point guard Quade Smith returned from a wrist injury with 11 points and solid ballhandling in a 60-39 loss to Meade in the 1A Div. 1 basketball substate. St. John (12-9) was outscored 18-7 in the first quarter and was unable to rally.
Meade's Samuel Lynn poured through 21 points. Meade (14-7) plays South Central (17-2) in the March 3 semifinals.
St. John 7 10 15 7 — 39
Meade 18 15 16 11 — 60
ST. JOHN (12-9) (FG 3 FT TP)—Braxton Alpers 5 2-2 12, Smith 5 (1) 0-4 11, Emmett Delp (1) 3-4 6, Vieux (1) 0-0 3, Reyes 2 1-2 5, Ibarra 1 0-0 2, Totals 15 6-12 39
MEADE (14-7) (FG 3 FT TP)—Lynn 7 (2) 5-5 21, Mendoza 3 (1) 2-2 9, McAtee (2) 2-4 9, Coe 4 0-0 8, Kraft 2 (1) 2-4 7, Jones 1 1-2 3, Conley 2 0-0 4, Totals 21 (6) 14-17 60
CHEYLIN 63, CHASE 30 — Chase's Duncan MacLaren scored 10 points and Malik Carson and Layton Winkelman added nine apiece in a 63-30 loss to Cheylin in the 1A Div. 2 basketball substate.
Cheylin's high-flying Landon Schoenberger scored 21 points. Cheylin (10-10) plays Hodgeman County (15-6) in the March 3 semifinals.
Chase 2 13 11 4 — 30
Cheylin 19 19 14 11 — 63
CHASE (1-20) (FG 3 FT TP)—MacLaren 4-12 (2-8) 0-2 10, Carson 4-7 (1-1) 0-6 9, Winkelman 4-8 1-1 9, Rice (0-3) 0-0 0, Hudson 1-3 (0-2) 0-0 2, Carlos Rincon 0-2 (0-1) 0-0 0, Totals 13-35 (3-14) 19 30
