5A state boys basketball: Gavin Lowe erupts for 35 as Olympus repeats with win over Highland

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SALT LAKE CITY — When the lights shined the brightest on the floor at the University of Utah, Gavin Lowe was at his best.

The Olympus junior poured in 35 points with six rebounds and six assists to help the Titans cruise to back-to-back state titles with a 69-40 win over region rival Highland in Friday's 5A championship at the Huntsman Center.

There's something about the Huntsman Center for the 6-foot guard who went over 1,000 career points after scoring 22 in Wednesday's semifinals against Timpview, 31 a day earlier against Springville, and 20 against Wasatch in the 5A second round.

Lowe hasn't scored fewer than 20 points since putting in 16 points on Feb. 7 at Alta, and scored in double figures in every game he played for the Titans in 2024-25.

But there was something special about this week.

"I love playing here, when the lights are the brightest," Lowe said. "I've been here for three years, and up here (at the Huntsman Center), the court's a little bit bigger. The spacing is better. And I always say we've got to peak at the right time.

"I feel like these last two years, we've peaked at the right time and done everything well."

Still, 35? After Dutch DowDell scorched the nets for 34 points a year ago in Olympus' 69-61 win over Alta?

"Thirty-five is crazy," Lowe said. "Dutch got 34 last year; I had to 1-up him.

"But I just come in and want to win," he added. "That's the main thing. Tonight, that meant scoring; on other nights, it's other things. But 35, that's crazy."

He got help, too.

Caden Jackson added 11 points, three assists and five steals for Olympus (24-3), and Davian Lazarus had 11 points and three rebounds. The Titans shot better than 62% from the field, 7-of-13 from 3-point range and assisted on 12-of-27 field goals while outrebounding the Rams 26-17 including 22-4 on the defensive glass.

It's the third state title in the past four years for Olympus and coach Matt Barnes — and on the Utes' home court, where the Titans love to play.

There's a reason for that, the 28th-year coach said.

"It gives us a little more room to operate. We've shot it well here," Barnes said. "I joked I'm going to make a deal with the high school association to keep it here as long as we can.

"But it was unbelievable. Springville's great, Timpview, Highland; to run through that gauntlet the way we did is pretty remarkable."

Isiah Drisdom led Highland with 9 points, and Soren Ries added 6 points and eight rebounds for the Rams (23-4), who split the regular-season series with Olympus by a combined 4 points.

This one looked to be playing out in a similar fashion, until Olympus made several key defensive adjustments to pull away for the 29-point win.

About the only thing that could stop the Titans' offensive momentum came with less than two minutes left, when a group of Highland students set off smoke and confetti that had to be cleared from the arena floor.

The two Salt Lake Valley rivals exchanged blows through an 18-14 first quarter before Olympus caught fire, shooting 59% from the field including 4-of-8 from 3-point range en route to a 34-25 halftime lead.

Lowe poured in 17 points on 6-of-9 shooting with four assists before the break for the Titans, who got 5 points and four steals from Caden Jackson as Olympus outscored the Rams 18-10 in the paint.

"He's got the heart of a champion," Barnes said of Lowe. "Two years ago, he was a freshman and 3-4 games into the season, I started him; he took off from there.

"Last year, he played a huge role, but Jordie and Dutch and those guys got all the attention. He knew that this time was his turn, and he took these guys as soon as the season was over to make us believe."

Then Olympus found its defensive groove, holding the Rams to just 4 points on 2-of-9 shooting during a 16-4 third-quarter run that helped put away the Titans' fifth state championship under Barnes — all since 2016.

"This is amazing; I love coach Barnes," Lazarus said. "But two more to come for me."

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Sean Walker

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KSL.com BYU and college sports reporter