Freshman Heinen continues strong start

The Bison stayed perfect, the Panther boys remained winless, but not all was status quo Friday night in Buffalo.

The fortunes of the undefeated Bison and winless Panthers remained the same even as Powell was possibly one misstep away from handing the Western Conference’s top team its first loss of the season.

“Overall, we played a good game. We played them hard on their court,” PHS head coach Chase Kistler said. “It was a high-intensity situation and our guys just kept to the grindstone. They never quit. Which has kind of been our M.O. so far.”

Panther junior T.J. Abraham made a 3-pointer that would have given the Panthers (0-4) a 49-48 lead with three seconds to play, but was whistled for stepping out of bounds just prior to the shot.

A failed steal attempt of the following inbounds play forced a Panther foul, and Buffalo’s two made free throws iced the game, 50-46, for the Bison (5-0).

Kistler said the Panthers, who trailed by two at halftime, are much closer to success than their record might indicate. Of Powell’s four losses, Friday’s four-point loss was the third-largest margin of defeat.

“It’s important to understand that we’re keeping in games,” Kistler said. “We’re that close to winning these games, we just have to figure out how to finish these games, really.”

Powell fell behind by eight in the third frame, but a cohesive offensive performance and high-pressure defense kept the Bison’s backs against the wall.

“The third quarter was the weakest quarter we had, but we closed that gap in the fourth quarter,” Kistler said. “We had another shot to win it but just couldn’t close it out. It was promising, because they’re a good team.”

Senior Kristian Stenlund scored a team-high 20 points and freshman Carson Heinen continued his fast start to his prep career with 11 points.

The duo accounted for two-thirds of Powell’s offense, which benefited from a strong inside-out game in Buffalo. 

Stenlund was found for open looks after the Panthers worked the ball into the post.

“He was really patient with the offense,” Kistler said of Stenlund. “He would kick it in, they would double down, and we found the open person.”

Stenlund has been Powell’s most consistent scoring threat through the first four games, and led the Panthers as they scored their second-most points of the season on Friday.

Heinen, who is averaging 9.8 points per game through four contests, provided a needed post presence to ease the burden off of Powell’s perimeter.

“He does a little bit of everything,” Kistler said. “We’ll run our offense where we’re putting him in the post and he needs to work one-on-one. He gets points that way, he gets points off rebounds and putbacks. He’s very consistent and well-rounded as a big guy.”

Kistler was weary of asking too much of Heinen in the season’s early going, but the freshman may see more time and touches as the season progresses.

“I didn’t know that he was going to be carrying so much of the load, as a freshman, this early. I didn’t want to put that kind of pressure on him that quick,” Kistler said. “As long as he’s producing down there we’re going to keep going to him.”

Powell’s defense was one late-game free throw from holding the Bison to their second-lowest points total of the season.

“Our defense is putting some hurt on people,” Kistler said. “I think we were kind of frustrating them. Our full court pressure was getting to them. And always having a guy glued to your hip gets old after a while.”

The Panthers are off the week of Christmas, and will resume practice on Monday, one day before their alumni game. Former Panthers will take on the current squad at 6 p.m. on Tuesday in the Panther Gym.

The week before Powell competes in Lovell’s tournament Jan. 8-9 will be spent fortifying the basics of the game, according to Kistler.

“I think it gives us a time where we can kind of catch up with stuff, just making sure that they’re doing the simple things right,” Kistler said. “Turnovers are killing us, and that just comes to handling pressure and doing the little things right.”

Powell committed more than 20 turnovers in a loss that was a single-possession game with three seconds to play (exact stats were not available prior to press time).

Kistler said a lot of his team’s maladies will be solved with time.

“I just think when they get some more game-time experience, I think they’ll know how to get a lead then sustain a lead,” he said.