Leaders of the pack

Posted 1/13/11

Against Mountain View, the Panthers grabbed control of the contest early and used a balanced attack to steadily distance themselves on the scoreboard. Chase Partridge had 13 points to lead a trio of Powell players in double figures. Cooper Wise and …

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Leaders of the pack

Posted

Weekend sweep lifts Panther boys

The Powell High School boys basketball team improved to 4-5 on the season and 4-0 in 3A West conference play with a pair of weekend victories. The Panthers defeated Mountain View by a 51-31 final count on Friday before handling Lyman 48-35 in Saturday action.

The wins, combined with action elsewhere in the 3A West division, leaves the Panthers as the sole undefeated team in the conference standings entering play this weekend.

Against Mountain View, the Panthers grabbed control of the contest early and used a balanced attack to steadily distance themselves on the scoreboard. Chase Partridge had 13 points to lead a trio of Powell players in double figures. Cooper Wise and Jake Beuster each chipped in with 10 points apiece.

“I thought we were a little bit rusty from the three-week break,” said Panther head coach Mike Heny. “We missed several easy scoring opportunities, especially early in the game. Our defensive effort was solid and our team defense improved from where we were a couple weeks ago.”

Partridge and Wise each helped spur that defensive effort with three steals. Beuster was a commanding force in the paint, rejecting four Mountain View shots. He also paced the team with six rebounds in the game.

The Panthers also helped their own cause by protecting the basketball. Powell had a season-low 10 turnovers in the contest.

The ease of Friday’s win was sharply contrasted by the Panthers’ early-game struggles on Saturday. Against Lyman, Powell fell behind 10-0 on the scoreboard before finding form and holding the visiting Eagles to just two points in the second quarter.

“We came out a little sluggish and got into an early hole,” Heny said. “The kids never panicked and we picked up our defensive intensity in the second quarter. At halftime, we talked about doing a better job getting out in transition and we made a couple adjustments to improve our offense against their zone.

“We started making our shots and our defensive effort was key to this win. It could have been a little easier, but we committed too many unforced turnovers. We will continue working on those little things as we get ready for Rocky Mountain and Lander.”

Partridge once again led the way, finishing with 17 points and nine rebounds against Lyman. Beuster added 11 and Marshall McArthur found his way into double figures, ending the game with 10 points as the trio scored all but 10 of Powell’s points in the contest.

Partridge also had a strong night at the defensive end, blocking six Lyman shot attempts. Zane Bushnell added four steals defensively and also dished out three assists.

The Panthers return to action tonight (Thursday) with a 7:30 p.m. non-conference game against Rocky Mountain. The team returns to 3A West competition on Saturday when the squad hosts Lander in an afternoon game.

Tip-off on Saturday is slated for 2:30 p.m.

Powell 51, Mtn. View 31

McArthur 8, Wise 10, Bushnell 7, England 2, Partridge 13, Cragoe 1, Beuster 10.

Rebounding: Beuster 6. Assists: Bushnell and Cragoe, 3 each. Steals: Partridge and Wise, 3 each. Blocked shots: Beuster 4.

Powell 48, Lyman 35

McArthur 10, Wise 5, Bushnell 3, Partridge 17, Cragoe 2, Beuster 11.

Rebounding: Partridge 9. Assists: Bushnell and Beuster, 3 each. Steals: Bushnell 4. Blocked shots: Partridge 6.

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