PHS boys find no relief on road

Posted 2/2/16

The Panthers dropped back-to-back games during their furthest road trip of the season to extend their losing streak to eight games.

PHS head coach Chase Kistler said the Panthers will stay the course, with the same end goal in mind.

“Our …

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PHS boys find no relief on road

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The cure for the Powell High School boys basketball team’s recent woes wasn’t found in the southwest corner of the state.

The Panthers dropped back-to-back games during their furthest road trip of the season to extend their losing streak to eight games.

PHS head coach Chase Kistler said the Panthers will stay the course, with the same end goal in mind.

“Our game plan is to be playing the best we can by regionals, so as individuals we’re still developing,” Kistler said. “We knew it was going to be a season-long … we weren’t going to peak in the middle of the season, we knew that.”

The Panthers (1-13) lost 51-46 to Mountain View on Friday night, and 64-47 to Pinedale Saturday afternoon.

Powell’s losing streak was nearly snapped at six games, but a late lead against

Mountain View (2-11) was lost at the free throw line.

“They got a little nervous,” Kistler said of his team. “(Mountain View’s) crowd got into it and we couldn’t hit our free throws down the stretch to ice it out.”

The Panthers led by nine points in the second quarter, and then by one point with 41 seconds to play in the game. Powell missed six free throws in the final minute of the five-point loss.

Kistler said the Panthers executed the game plan well enough to win, but poor foul shooting rendered the work they put in during the first 31 minutes moot.

“We kind of knew it was going to come down to who out-worked the other team and who won the rebound battle,” Kistler said. “I guess I should have thrown free throws on the list, because we did the other things.”

Senior Kristian Stenlund led the Panthers with 14 points, and was one of three Panthers to score in double figures. Junior T.J. Abraham and freshman Carson Heinen each had 10 points. Senior Kaden Moore added six.

The Panthers turned the ball over a season-low 12 times against the Buffaloes.

While another loss was disappointing, especially against a team that entered the weekend with just one win, Powell again showed its potential.

The same couldn’t be said for Saturday’s loss in Pinedale.

“Against Mountain View I thought we played Panther basketball, and against Pinedale I thought we lost stride a little bit. I don’t think we played near our potential against Pinedale,” Kistler said.

Whether the travel, the late night prior to Saturday’s game, or the fact the Panthers had to process another near-miss, Powell didn’t show up to Pinedale with the same level of focus.

“You could tell the demeanor of our guys on Saturday was, they were pretty ragged,” Kistler said. “You can definitely tell when you have group of teenage boys, when they’re kind of irritable.”

The Panthers still kept things close with the Wranglers in the first quarter, but Pinedale (5-8) pulled away in the second.

Kistler said Powell was not prepared to be pushed around by an older, stronger team.

“The physicality got to us early. Not just hindering our play but also our mentality,” Kistler said. “They were a senior heavy team, and the overall body strength was a big separation. Our guys were kind of shell shocked. It was a new feeling for them.”

Powell’s offense was led by Moore’s 12 points, followed by 11 from Stenlund and eight from Heinen. Sophomore Zach Meredith chipped in with five points.

“Sometimes we bounce back, sometimes we recover, and sometimes we don’t,” Kistler said. “These guys see it, which is good. They see what we’re capable of now we just have to figure out how to do it consistently.”

Close to home

With just seven games remaining in the regular season, the Panthers will finally get their first crack at the cross-county rival Cody Broncs.

They’ll have to deal with Class 3A’s top-ranked first though.

Powell hosts the No. 1 Worland Warriors (9-3) at 7 p.m. on Thursday before playing in Cody at 7 p.m. on Friday.

Thursday’s matchup will mark the third time Powell and Worland have met this season, and neither game has gone the Panthers’ way.

The Warriors won 76-43 in Worland on Jan. 15, and 66-39 when the teams met at Northwest College for the Big Horn Basin Basketball Classic on Jan. 8.

Kistler said another game against Worland would test the Panthers’ mental fortitude.

“You know the opponent and what they can do. You can look at it two ways. You can throw in the towel … or you can be a spoiler and look at it to try to make them have a bad day,” Kistler said. “You guys have an opportunity to play one of the best teams in the state, and that forces you to be a better player.”

Despite playing just a half hour away, the Panthers and Broncs are relative strangers so far this season. Cody hosted the season-opening East-West Classic, but Kistler said Powell’s schedule barely allowed him to catch more than a glimpse of the Broncs.

“They’re a scrappy team,” Kistler said of Cody. “They try to make the game very physical, try to fast break and try to force you to make turnovers.”

Cody (8-5) beat Mountain View 80-40 on Saturday, and won 69-50 in Pinedale on Friday.

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