The Desert Sun from Palm Springs, California • C5

DESERTSUN.COM WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 1, 2017 5C Cal Lowell has tried not to think about it. The thought of coaching his son Spencer for the last time is too pain- ful. a moment the longtime La Quinta High School water polo coach will have to face at some point. But after 15-6 victory over Yorba Linda in the round of the Di- vision 3 California Interscholastic Fed- eration La father and son duo will play together a little longer as the Blackhawks try to string together a postseason run. just a Cal Lowell said of his son, a senior and the 2016 Desert Valley League Player of the Year.

just so fun always, has a great sense of humor, loves his team. a joy to be around, and brings his team together because of that. They all love Spencer Lowell is the of six Low- ell children coached by their dad, who guided the Blackhawks to their third consecutive league title this season. The youngest, Virginia, will remain at La Quinta beyond this season. Spencer is the last of the two boys to play for La Quinta.

And as the end of his senior season draws near, forced himself to con- front his emotions over what will be his last few games playing for his dad. been the biggest privilege of my Spencer Lowell said. he does, everything about him is just ex- cellence. be here without a mutual respect between the two that is apparent. Cal Lowell says his son is the hardest working player ever coached.

Spencer credits his dad for setting the bar high and pushing him in ways that another coach may not have. That relationship is at least part of the reason La Quinta is moving on in the The Blackhawks trailed early on Tuesday, before rallying to outscore Yor- ba Linda 9-2 in the second half to run away with the victory. Spencer Lowell score three goals, but was just as impor- tant as a decoy, sometimes drawing double and triple teams to open up scor- ing opportunities for his teammates. he score a Cal Lowell said, his presence is felt so strongly that it makes the just works and works, and he im- proves. We have the joy of sharing that together, because he works so Lowell is known at the school and within the DVL for his competitive- ness.

He wants to win. But even more important to the coach is the relation- ships he has with his players, and par- ticularly with his own sons and daugh- ters. really enjoyed coaching the coach said. But Spencer, who plans to serve a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints after high school, will be one of the last to play for their dad. That has made both father and son a little emotional.

also helped the pair realize how much enjoyed being around each other so much the last few years. And at least for Spencer, that their last game together is approaching is fur- ther motivation to make the most of it. winding Spencer Lowell said. accomplished a lot and done a lot of good things. I think win or lose, as long as we give it our all and play our best, going to be Added Cal Lowell: still have a few more games La Quinta water polo advances Father-son duo will get at least 1 more game Andrew L.

John Palm Springs Desert Sun USA TODAY NETWORK La Quinta's Spencer Lowell shoots and scores against Yorba Linda on Tuesday in La Quinta. RICHARD DESERT SUN LOS ANGELES Julius Randle scored 17 points, Lonzo Ball added 13 and the Los Angeles Lakers beat the De- troit Pistons 113-93 on Tuesday night. Larry Nance Jr. had 14 points and 12 rebounds for his third double-double for the Lakers, who had lost the previous three games against the Pistons. Bran- don Ingram and Kentavious Caldwell- Pope each had 13 points.

Tobias Harris and Reggie Jackson each had 18 points for the Pistons, who were unable to sweep their three-game California road trip. Andre Drummond had 10 points and 12 rebounds. Pistons head coach Stan Van Gundy was unsure about how his team might handle the adulation associated with a surprising 5-2 start, and those concerns proved to be well-founded as the Lakers took a 58-45 halftime lead when Brook Lopez hit a 3-pointer as the buzzer ex- pired. Rookie Kyle Kuzma had 10 points the bench in the second quarter, making 4 of 5 shots and knocking down both of his 3-pointers as the Lakers pushed their lead to as much as 14. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope clearly relished his chance to play against the Pistons, who drafted him No.

8 over- all in 2013. Caldwell-Pope had seven points and three rebounds in the opening 10:28 be- fore sitting after picking up his second foul. The Lakers made 25 of 49 shots in the half, including 6 of 13 from 3-point range. Tip-ins Pistons: After allowing 24 fast- break points in their seven games, the Pistons allowed the Lakers to get free for 17 points. Ish Smith had 12 of the 30 points the bench.

Lakers: Kuzma with 16 points and was one of seven Lakers to with double Los Ange- les improved to 14-4 against the Pis- tons at Staples Center. Up next Pistons: Host the Milwaukee Bucks on Friday to open a home- stand. Lakers: Visit the Portland Trail- blazers on Thursday. Lakers coach Luke Walton, left, talks with Lakers forward Julius Randle, center, and Lakers forward Kyle Kuzma on Tuesday. KIRBY TODAY SPORTS Ball, Lakers romp to win over Pistons Dan Greenspan ASSOCIATED PRESS Lakers guard Lonzo Ball, right, and Pistons center Andre Drummond, top left, reach for a rebound Tuesday.

AP CHARLOTTE, N.C. Joey crew chief accepted blame Tuesday for not pitting Logano with a tire rub, a call that may have cost Team Penske team- mate Brad Keselowski a spot in NAS- championship. Logano was third with 12 laps re- maining in race at Martins- ville Speedway when contact with Kyle Busch created a tire rub on Loga- car. Keselowski was leading and seemed to have the victory in hand, and the win would have earned Kese- lowski a slot in the season cham- pionship race. But Logano was not called in to pit, the tire blew and he spun.

It brought out a caution that ultimately led to Ke- selowski not winning the race. missed the crew chief Todd Gordon said Tuesday on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio. Logano is not eligible for the play- and once he developed the tire rub, he was out of contention for the Martinsville victory. Other drivers, including Martinsville race winner Busch, noted that Logano should have pitted for the good of the Penske organization. Gordon said that in the seconds required to make a decision, he failed to consider situation and was thinking only of gaining a mo- mentum-building for team.

Keselowski had marked Mar- tinsville as a must-win race for him to earn one of the four slots in the cham- pionship. the time Kyle got into us, we were third and Gordon said. only got a couple of glimpses of (the tire). It was smoking. The lap and half of that, I sure how bad (the tire) was and as I saw, I know with a few laps left, whether it was an external rub or whether it was on the tire contact patch, and the smoke kind of clouds it a little bit for me.

it was looking at the fact that I felt like if it was just a tire rub we might (salvage) a out of the As tire situation became more perilous, the driver was stuck on the outside lane of the track and getting to pit road would have been By the time Logano could get out of the way, the tire had failed and lead was erased. guess I should have called him in earlier with the grander picture in my head. I missed the call. I just own that I missed the call Gordon said. for that for our teammates and everybody here at Team Penske.

Brad had a dominant car all day, and I think was in a great position. you could take those things back but you At that time, my fo- cus was on a momentum builder for our team. Saw that opportunity, know how bad the rub was and as it be- came more clear it became too late to re- act to Gordon indicated that Keselowski crew chief Paul Wolfe was annoyed with decision, and the two col- leagues had a conversation. Brad Keselowski prepares for practice for a NASCAR Cup Series race Oct. 21 at Kansas Speedway in Kansas City, Kan.

COLIN E. Logano crew chief takes blame for costly move Jenna Fryer ASSOCIATED PRESS.