HOLLADAY, Utah — The Olympus Titans are back-to-back boys' basketball 5A State Champions for the first time in school history, notching their 5th state title under Head Coach Matt Barnes, who has led the program for 28 years.
Junior guard Gavin Lowe has owned his role within Olympus basketball, now a part of two state championship teams.
On Friday, the Titans tipped off against Highland — a school they fell to in the regular season. But the Titans responded this time. Lowe scored a jaw-dropping 35 points, leading his team to a 69-40 victory over the Rams, with some hardware to show for it.
"You've seen for three years, in different roles, he finds ways to win," said Coach Barnes. "He just has that mentality, toughness and drive."
"To watch him get to the basket, be able to finish, the shiftiness, the creativity, when your best player, is your hardest worker, it makes your job easy as a coach."
Lowe was a part of an Olympus state championship team in 2024, where at the time, senior Dutch DowDell dropped 34 points.
"I was a little surprised that game. I knew at the end I had like 33 and Dutch [DowDell] got 34 last year, and so right before I got out, I wanted to one-up him," said Lowe. "I guess it was just a good night. It was a good night to have a good night."
"You saw the whole package from Gavin in the State Championship," Barnes added. "It was pretty... amazing on that stage... to see the performance he put together."
The 2017-18 state championship team went an impressive 27-0 on the season, something that Gavin is striving for in his senior year.
"The goal next year is to go 28-0. We get an extra game because of the State Championship win this year," said Lowe. "A three-peat at the end of my high school career, that's a great way to end it."
