PHS 6-6 on season; will host pair of contests this weekend

It was a split decision.

The Powell High School boys basketball team opened 3A West play over the weekend with a win over Lovell and a loss to Lander Valley. The Panthers defeated Lovell 81-60 on the Bulldogs’ home court Friday and fell 74-64 to Lander Valley during a Saturday matinee at Powell High School.

Senior Kalei Smith continued to build on his career scoring record, netting 35 against Lovell and 31 in the loss to Lander. The road victory was marked by a somewhat more even distribution of points but in the home loss, Smith and fellow seniors Carter Baxter and Zach Heny were the only three to pose an offensive threat.

The Panthers are now 6-6 on the season and 1-1 in the 3A West.

Lander Valley 74, Powell 64

The Lander Valley Tigers now lead the conference with a 2-0 mark after defeating Cody 56-46 Friday night in the first of a two-game trip through Park County. Center Cooxoocii Black came into the game second to Smith in scoring in the 3A West and leading the conference in rebounding and blocked shots. He demonstrated all those abilities in the win in Panther Gym.

Black, a 6-8 post player with soft hands and skilled footwork, scored 18 points, had 14 rebounds and blocked five shots.

Powell junior forward Jake Gallagher, a 6-1 inside player who does a lot of the small things needed to win, was suffering from the flu and did not play in either game. Kristian Stenlund, a 5-9 junior, started in his place.

Powell opened slowly and fell behind 9-2. A dunk from Black and a hoop from junior guard Zac Schuler kept the lead at 17-7 before PHS went on a six-point run, highlighted by a nifty lefty layup from Smith, to cut it to 15-13 after the first quarter.

Black continued to score and his looming presence inside forced some tough shots from the Panthers in the second stanza. Smith kept scoring from the inside as Powell hung close, trailing 32-26 at the half.

Senior Matt Sweet, who displayed his impressive speed several times during the contest, went the length of the court to score and added a free throw to knot the game at 38-38. Smith, who is playing more inside this season with the Panthers lacking many taller players, fought for a basket midway through the period, taking four shots before scoring to tie the game again at 40.

He added three free throws to make it 43-43 but the Tigers slowly built a lead they would hold until the final buzzer. Heny hit a pair of free throws and Stenlund scored to make it 50-48, but Lander kept scoring, too, hitting outside shots that had not fallen earlier in the game.

Junior guard Kobey Simpson, who handled the ball all game long and scored on drives as well, hit a 3-pointer to make it a 64-53 lead. After that, the Tigers held on, matching Panther scores with breakaways and outside shots to maintain control.

Heny had 19 points, six rebounds and three assists. Baxter had eight points, seven rebounds and six blocked shots. Smith added 14 rebounds, seven on both ends, to lead the Panthers.

Simpson had 17 points, as did Delane Robertson. Dylan Puroll added 10 and Jaxon Hedges had eight points and eight boards.

Powell head coach Chase Kistler said the Panthers could have won if they had just hit a few more shots. They had their chances, he said.

“It was a competitive game all the way through,” he said, noting that a team can make up a 10-point deficit in 30 seconds with a few breaks. “We missed some key shots early on.”

Kistler said Black’s presence inside, and the physical brand of play the taller, huskier Tigers displayed prevented Powell from getting clean looks at the basket.

“We’ve got to get more consistent on making free throws, too,” the coach said.

“I’m a little disappointed in the loss,” Smith said. “It was an important game for seeding. But we’ll move forward.”

Smith said the team needs to “focus on executing” and make sure it does the little things right. It also needs to shoot better, especially from the line.

Powell 81, Lovell 60

The Panthers took the shortest road trip of the season Friday and came home with an 81-60 win over the Lovell Bulldogs in the 3A West opener for both teams behind another strong performance from Smith.

“He’s doing fine,” Kistler said. “And they were all over him. He was getting beat up.”

The 81 points was a season high for PHS, but the coach said his team may score more at some point.

“There’s always room for improvement,” he said.

Smith scored Powell’s first seven points and then got some offensive help when Sweet, a 5-7 guard who is unafraid of playing inside, grabbed a rebound and scored to tie the game at 9-9. Heny soon added a 3-pointer and PHS claimed a 12-11 lead.

When Baxter swished a pair of free throws and a Heny steal led to a Smith bucket, Powell had a five-point edge.

Smith returned the favor, making a slick pass to Heny that led to a left-handed layup for the senior guard.

A foul and a technical against the Bulldogs gave Smith the rare opportunity to shoot four free throws and he made a pair. Powell held a 22-14 lead after the first quarter.

Smith opened the second period with a basket and a free throw. The three-point play gave the Panthers an 11-point cushion

Junior Kaden Moore hit a 3-pointer to open the lead to 30-18, but Lovell cut it to six with an offensive burst near the end of the period, with 6-9 junior Nic Haskell playing a key role on both ends of the court for the Bulldogs.

Smith scored, giving him 16 points, to end that streak. A Baxter score rebuilt the lead to seven, and when Heny added a late 3-pointer, the Panthers held a 41-33 halftime advantage.

Smith pushed it to 10 with a steal and a slam to open the third quarter. He then added a pair of 3-pointers and was on a pace to break his own record for points in a game.

Smith hit a pair of free throws and then stole the ball and went in for another dunk. A technical was whistled against him but it was canceled when the other official realized Smith was merely trying to avoid a Lovell defender who was under his feet.

Baxter scored to make it 61-45 as the Panthers assumed complete control of the game late in the quarter.

The fourth quarter was a relatively mild affair after the frantic first three periods. Baxter scored off a pass from Heny, who had just blocked a shot, delighting the Powell fans, to make it 77-53. The Panthers held a lead of more than 20 points the rest of the game.

Smith finished with 35 points, including 14 in the third period, and added seven rebounds. Baxter scored 12 and Heny had 11 points and six assists. Moore added nine, Stenlund had eight and Sweet contributed six.

Lovell, which came into the game at 3-7, was plagued with 23 turnovers compared to 12 by Powell.

CJ Murphey paced the Bulldogs with 22 points. Haskell added 13 points, 10 boards and four blocks.

Notes: One of the highlights of the weekend came when Sweet was matched up against Black as they lined up for a potential rebound during a free throw attempt. Smith tried to stand next to Black, but the 6-8 post player made sure he was matched with the 5-7 guard. Sweet, who relishes inside play, didn’t seem to mind, but Smith wore a smile as the players prepared for the shot. ... The Powell coaches wore matching white polo shirts. ... The Panthers host Mountain View at 7:30 p.m. Friday at Panther Gym and Pinedale at 2:30 p.m. Saturday.