Lyman clips Panther boys

Posted 2/14/12

The Panthers bounced back the following afternoon, taking out their frustration on Mountain View to the tune of a 57-23 blowout. The split of weekend games leaves the Panthers 14-3 overall this season and 9-2 in 3A West play. The Panthers are now a …

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Lyman clips Panther boys

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Powell can’t connect at the buzzer

Home wasn’t so sweet for the Powell Panther boys’ basketball team on Friday night. The third-ranked Panthers saw Lyman steal a 53-52 win in just the fourth home game of the season for Powell.

The Panthers bounced back the following afternoon, taking out their frustration on Mountain View to the tune of a 57-23 blowout. The split of weekend games leaves the Panthers 14-3 overall this season and 9-2 in 3A West play. The Panthers are now a game behind Lander in the standings after the Tigers edged Star Valley over the weekend.

Powell struggled throughout the contest to get much going against Lyman’s zone defense. The visiting Eagles worked to a six-point lead at halftime, 28-22. Powell erased the gap midway through the third period, only to allow Lyman to re-establish the margin a short while later.

“It was just one of those games,” said Panther head coach Mike Heny. “We didn’t shoot the ball particularly well and we didn’t defend particularly well. They led pretty much the entire game. We looked like we were going to get back into it in the third quarter, but then we didn’t do a good job defensively and let them run back out to a lead on us again.”

Lyman appeared on its way to a comfortable win, but back-to-back 3-point buckets by Powell carved an eight-point Lyman lead down to two points and injected fresh life into the Powell crowd.

After the Panthers drew to within one point, Powell missed an opportunity to take the lead after a breakaway layup attempt rolled across the rim. The Panthers got the ball back with 26 seconds to play and worked the clock for a final shot.

Josh Cragoe wound up with the ball in his hands along the baseline with six seconds to play, but his driving shot was draped by a pair of Lyman defenders and bounced off the iron. Marshall McArthur got the offensive rebound and lobbed the ball back toward the rim, but his shot just before the buzzer caromed off the front of the rim to preserve the victory for Lyman.

“It was challenging because Lyman still had a foul to give and that changes the complexion of things,” Heny said of the Panthers’ strategy in the waning seconds. “We had to get something going toward the rim so that if they came to foul we could get up into a shooting motion. We actually got what we wanted with Josh along the baseline and then Marshall crashing the boards.”

As a team, the Panthers shot just 37 percent from the floor in the contest. The team was also held to just 21 rebounds by the Eagles.

Chase Partridge had 19 points to lead the way for the Panthers. Marshall McArthur added 13 points and a team-best eight rebounds.

“Really, it’s a testimony to the team for us to play the way we did and still be in a position to win the game late,” Heny said. “It was just one of those nights.”

Fortunately for Panther fans, Powell shook off any ill effects from Friday’s unexpected loss quickly. The Panthers held Mountain View without a basket from the floor in the first quarter as they built a 16-1 lead. Powell continued to roll, leading 32-7 at intermission and earning a healthy dose of playing time for the reserves in the second half.

“After losing to Lyman, we scrapped any plans we had for playing a zone defense on Saturday,” Heny said. “We challenged the guys to just go out, play man defense and shut down Mountain View. We didn’t want them to get any sort of momentum on our floor.”

The Panthers accomplished that feat in a big way. Powell finished with 12 defensive steals in the contest. After being limited in the rebounding department the previous night, Powell bounced back with 37 rebounds, including 17 offensive boards, on Saturday.

“Sometimes a loss makes you recommit to what you’re doing and refocus on the task,” said Heny. “We did a good job of getting back and doing what we’d been doing. Our level of intensity on defense was really the biggest difference between Friday and Saturday.”

Partridge finished with 24 points to single-handedly outscore Mountain View. McArthur chipped in with 12 points as 11 different players entered the game for the Panthers.

“It’s always good to get those kids that work hard in practice all week into the game for a while,” said Heny. “You can’t do that unless those guys that start do what they’re supposed to and take care of business.”

Despite the loss, the Panthers remain in control of their own destiny in the 3A West, according to Heny. Powell hosts Pinedale and Lander this weekend. With wins over both teams, Powell would move back into a tie with Lander. The Panthers currently hold the tiebreak advantage over the Tigers.

“It will be a little different having the big game on a Saturday instead of a Friday,” Heny said of the weekend ahead. “We have to make sure we don’t take Friday’s game against Pinedale for granted. We’ll want to set the tone early in that game and get ourselves set up for that game on Saturday. Lander’s going to be coming in here ranked No. 1. We have to be ready to go.”

Lyman 53, Powell 52

Marshall McArthur 13, Cooper Wise 7, Brady Schaefer 3, Tyler Sandal 2, Chase Partridge 19, Josh Cragoe 8.

Rebounds: McArthur 8. Assists: McArthur and Wise, 3 each. Steals: McArthur, Partridge and Justin Lynn, 2 each. Blocked Shots: Partridge 4.

Powell 57, Mtn. View 23

Marshall McArthur 12, Cooper Wise 9, Tchae Fike 2, Brady Schaefer 4, Justin Lynn 4, Chase Partridge 24, Josh Cragoe 2.

Rebounds: McArthur and Cragoe, 8 each. Assists: Wise 3. Steals: Wise 4. Blocked Shots: Schaefer 1.

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