His ceiling is high and he showed why.
Mekhi Lowery saved his best for last Saturday night in the fourth and final game of Batavia’s Night of Hoops. And he was simply spectacular.
Lowery, a 6-foot-5 junior best described as a point forward for highflying Oswego East, already had the crowd buzzing by the time he made the play of the game in the final 12 seconds of overtime against the host Bulldogs.
With Batavia holding the ball for a final shot, Lowery tipped Trent Tousana’s pass intended for Ethan Ivan and gathered it in as he tiptoed down the sideline, struggling to stay inbounds.
Lowery cut to the basket, missed a floater in the lane but still had time to gather the rebound and score on a putback before the buzzer sounded.
It gave the Wolves a 52-50 victory.
Asked for his take afterward, Oswego East teammate DeVon Oregon flashed a knowing smile and shrugged.
“It’s Mekhi,” Oregon said. “He was on a streak. He already had two buckets in crunchtime. I just knew he was going to take it and finish it.
“The sky’s the limit for him. I love Mekhi. He’s a great teammate.”
His late-game heroics began with 13 seconds remaining in regulation when Lowery scored to force a 45-45 tie, sending the game to OT.
Lowery owned those extra four minutes for the Wolves (22-1), who won their eighth straight.
He scored all seven of his team’s points in the extra session with a pair of free throws and a game-tying 3-point play that started with a spinning reverse layup on a drive down the lane with 1:03 remaining.
“That play was designed for me,” Lowery said. “I got the ball and knew I could go to work, so I did one of my go-to moves. I got the finish and one (free throw). I had trust in myself.”
It set up the final sequence, and his winning shot capped a 19-point performance.
That matched Ivan, the player Lowery was guarding when he wasn’t out front on the Wolves’ 1-3-1 zone.
“Coach said he was a lights-out shooter, and he definitely was tonight,” Lowery said of Ivan. “They were hitting a lot of 3-pointers, which did surprise me a little bit.”
Short-handed Batavia (16-7) played without 6-9 Austin Ambrose, who was out sick. Ambrose usually teams with Tousana, who scored 16 points to lead the Bulldogs.
Charlie Saul gave Batavia a lift by making three 3-pointers. Ivan had three and Tousana four more as the Bulldogs shot 10 of 23 from beyond the arc.
Batavia seemed poised for the upset, finishing a 13-2 run to take the largest lead at 37-28 with 6:35 left in the fourth quarter.
“Mekhi just doesn’t give up on the play and makes it happen,” Oswego East coach Ryan Velasquez said. “Our backs were against the wall. I felt like we had to speed them up. We responded, and it started with our defense.”
Batavia’s struggles at the free-throw line helped too. The Bulldogs made just 4 of 11 in the fourth quarter.
“We had an opportunity,” Batavia coach Jim Nazos said. “Oswego East is a great team, and if you make a mistake, they’re going to make you pay for it.
“Lowery makes plays. He contested shots and played tough. He hits open 12-footers regularly, and those aren’t easy shots.”
Darren Oregon, who added nine points, confirmed the Wolves weren’t nervous.
“We’ve been down plenty of times,” he said. “In huddles during timeouts, we just took a deep breath and told everybody to relax and that we had to execute, defense or offense.
“Mekhi, with his height and length, really helps. That and his ability to handle the ball. He’s really a point guard and he’s tough to stop.”