'We were hot on it. We burned the court up'

SANDPOINT — They say records are made to be broken. But what do they know?

Were they there when a young Jim Lowther and his little brother Bob would shovel snow at their home in Clark Fork to shoot baskets on a dirt court, taking dead aim at a rim mounted to the side of a shop?

Were they there when the brothers would light a diesel can on fire at night, providing enough light to continue firing off jumper after jumper?

Were they there for any of the countless hours that Jim would fritter away shooting baskets at the old Hope Gym, where he honed the flat stroke needed to make baskets on a court with an extremely low ceiling.

Were they there back in the winter of 1970, when Jim made 17 field goals and scored 38 points to lead the Wampus Cats past Midvale in the semis of the 1A state tournament, setting a record that has stood the test of time?

More than four decades later, nobody has ever made more than 17 field goals in a game at state, and the mark remains one of the oldest on the books. Lowther, 60 years old and still living in Clark Fork, counts the achievement as a great source of pride.

“It means a great deal to my heart,” says Lowther, a self-described gym rat. “My grandkids say ‘grandpa, you still hold the record.’”

It was a golden era of hoops in Clark Fork, as the Lowther brothers led a squad, coached by Harold Walker, that won 32 straight games during one stretch. The streak ended when the Wampus Cats lost to Oakley in the state championship game. In the first half of that game, the Lowther brothers tallied a dozen steals, surprising a heavily-favored Oakley team.

“We had quite a streak going. They presented us as a logger community playing farm boys,” remembers Lowther, a senior playing alongside his sophomore brother Bob. “I only got 32 or 34 in the finals. That was a great experience, even though we didn’t win, just a lot of fun playing with Bob.”

That Lowther is still around to savor his record is remarkable, having survived major heart surgery recently where he says he died, before eventually being brought back to life. Suffice it to say, his doctor wasn’t happy to hear that Lowther recently fell off the roof while shoveling snow.

While Lowther’s state record is special, it was the opportunity to play alongside his younger brother Bob in high school, and eventually in college, that he remembers most when strolling down memory lane.

“I always had somebody else to play with and you know exactly what the other person was going to do,” said Jim Lowther, who worked in the woods for years after college. “Bob was just like a gazelle. We were hot on it. We burned the court up.”

Jim Lowther was eventually recruited by the likes of Oregon State and Oregon, who wanted him to redshirt. He opted to play one year for Rolly Williams at North Idaho College, before joining Bob on the hardwood at Sheldon Jackson Junior College in Sitka, Alaska.

Bob Lowther, who works for UPS in Sandpoint, remembers Jim’s quick-release and low arcing shot borne during many one-one-one battles in the old Hope gym, which featured a ceiling about five feet above the basket. Bob was noncommittal when asked who was the better player.

“He was very quick and could harass you on defense, but I had the jump on him,” said Bob of his older brother, noting the record is bound to fall one of these years. “They’re (records) meant to be broken, but it will be tough for someone to do it.”

Nobody knows how many more points Jim Lowther would have scored had their been a 3-point line back in the day, as many of his jumpers were launched from way downtown.

Longtime Clark Fork basketball and community stalwart Bob Hays remembers watching Lowther play often, and was in the gym when the 32 game win streak came to an end.

“He wasn’t very big, but he was mighty,” recalled Hays. “He was shifty with the basketball. He’d steal a lot of balls, and had a heck of a shot.”

A hoops junkie since he was 7 years-old, Lowther satisfied an itch by shooting baskets with his grandkids a couple of years ago, admitting that he feels lucky to still be around.

He admits holding the record still means a lot, but quickly adds that he doesn’t like to brag. Nor does he need to, as the record speaks volumes.

“I just went out to play, have fun and win,” he said. “Goes to show if you put your mind to it, you can do it.”