Wins keep PHS unbeaten in conference play

The Powell Panthers endured a long road trip on the heels of a long winter break, but hit the court in stride to notch wins over Mountain View and Lyman over the weekend. The wins maintain the Panthers’ perfect record in 3A West play.

They could also earn the school the state’s No. 1 ranking after Star Valley upset current No. 1 Lander over the weekend.

Powell had difficulties of its own. Similar to last year’s 3A West tournament, the Lyman Eagles jumped out to an early advantage against the Panthers. Lyman pressed its cushion as high as 13 points in the early going before Powell settled into the contest and began to deliberately chop away at the margin.

“We really weren’t playing that bad offensively,” said Panther coach Mike Heny. “We weren’t turning the ball over that much. We were getting good shots that just weren’t falling, and when you’re doing that you just tell the kids to keep shooting and eventually the shots will go in.”

Defensively, the Panthers switched up their defensive look between the first and second quarter and succeeded in slowing down Lyman’s fast break opportunities. By halftime, the Panthers had drawn to within three. Lyman managed to maintain that slim but persistent advantage throughout much of the third and early fourth quarters. Late in the contest, the Panthers finally caught a second burst of momentum to grab a lead.

From there, Powell put the game away at the foul line. The Panthers connected on 14 shots from the charity stripe in the fourth quarter alone as they pulled out a 51-48 victory.

Friday’s return to the hardwood needed no such drama in the second half. The Panthers scored 15 of the game’s first 18 points to open a big first-quarter lead that the team never relinquished against Mountain View. Powell eventually won the contest by a comfortable 61-41 final count.

“We wanted to come out with a lot of energy and try to build a big lead,” said Heny. “That’s a tough gym to play in if the crowd is getting into it, so we were hoping to go down and get an early lead and hopefully take their crowd out of it a little.”

As it turns out, the Panthers executed that gameplan to near-perfection. Powell didn’t lose stride after its fast opening as the team pushed to a 20-point halftime lead. Powell’s only hiccup came in the third quarter, when Mountain View briefly trimmed the margin to 11 points, but after that, it was all Powell as the Panthers pushed their lead back over 20 points.

“I was a little disappointed that we didn’t come out with the same intensity in the second half that we started the game with,” said Heny. “But we picked it back up again in the fourth quarter and stretched it back out again. Other than that third quarter, it was a pretty complete game for us.”

The Panthers’ record now sits at 8-1 for the season. The team is 4-0 in 3A West play. Powell returns to action Friday night at Cody.

“That’s never an easy game,” Heny said of Friday’s Park County contest. “They’re a beter team than their record indicates and it is never a gimme against them, especially over there. We have to be ready to play our best.”

Powell 61, Mt. View 41

Marshall McArthur 10, Cooper Wise 4, Brady Schaefer 10, Tyler Sandal 3, Chase Partridge 19, Josh Cragoe 15.

Rebounding: Josh Cragoe and Marshall McArthur, 8 each. Assists: Cooper Wise 4. Steals: Marshall McArthur 5. Blocked shots: Chase Partridge 3.

Powell 51, Lyman 48

Marshall McArthur 14, Cooper Wise 5, Brady Schaefer 2, Justin Lynn 3, Tyler Sandal 2, Chase Partridge 17, Josh Cragoe 8.

Rebounding: Marshall McArthur and Chase Partridge 11. Assists: Cooper Wise 2. Steals: Josh Cragoe 4. Blocked shots: Marshall McArthur 2.