Win over No. 2 Bulldogs part of 2-1 weekend

Fifth-ranked Powell jumped on No. 2 Wheatland early and often, then endured some nervous moments in the second half to wrap up the opening weekend of high school basketball in stunning fashion, shocking the defending 3A runner-up 65-61 to complete a 2-1 opening weekend in Cody.

“Everything was just clicking for us,” Panther head coach Mike Heny said of the first quarter against Wheatland, which saw Powell grab a 16-point lead. “We hit two quick shots from 3-point range and suddenly that hoop got to looking pretty big for everyone. We just gained confidence and the kids started feeding off each other.”

One year after watching Wheatland sharp-shooter Ryan Madsen go off for 29 points in the first half against them, the Panthers were having no such repeat performance.

“We were really focused coming out on defense and trying to keep him away from easy areas to score,” Heny said. “We wanted to pressure them and not let them just hand it to us the way they have the last couple of years.”

Powell accomplished that mission and then some. The Panthers connected for four 3-point shots before the first period wrapped up. Chase Partridge accounted for 10 Panther points before the opening quarter came to an end as a shell-shocked Bulldog squad simply tried to survive until halftime after the Panthers led by as many as 20 points.

In the second half, Wheatland came out with more pressure. The ploy worked as the Bulldogs carved away at Powell’s lead.

“We didn’t do as good a job taking care of the basketball in the second half,” Heny said. “They extended their defense and instead of making them pay, we got tentative and played into what they were trying to do. We want to make teams pay in those situations. Yes, we’re trying to burn some clock, but we want to stay in attack mode when teams try to be aggressive defensively.”

Wheatland battled back to grab the lead in the second half. After the Panthers blew a layup, Heny admits things could have been dire.

“It could have been a heartbreaking loss,” he said. “We showed great character, and I think part of that might be coming off the situation with football for some of these guys. We could have easily hung our heads after we lost the lead, but they made a defensive stop, got the ball back and made a play. We didn’t get rattled.”

The victory was the highlight of the weekend. Powell also scored a 69-39 win over Rawlins in a game the Panthers were never seriously threatened. Against Riverton on Friday, Powell fought back from a nine-point deficit to take a lead with approximately 4:30 remaining, only to go cold and not score a point for three minutes as the Wolverines re-established the nine-point gap, eventually winning 69-65 after a pair of late 3-point buckets made the final margin more presentable for the Panthers.

“We didn’t shoot the ball as well as we could against Riverton,” said Heny. “Against Rawlins, we did a better job shooting and we defended them well. We took care of business in that contest.”

The Panthers return to action this weekend. Powell hosts Jackson on Friday, then faces Star Valley on Saturday in a pair of 3A West contests.

“We had a couple opportunities to scout Jackson,” Heny said. “They run a four out, one in style of offense and look like they try to live and die at the 3-point line. They hit nine of 13 in one game, so we’ll definitely have to guard the perimeter and not give up any easy looks.”