Rugged regional leaves Panther boys fourth

It wasn’t the result they were hoping for, but the top-ranked Powell Panthers made good on their goal of qualifying for this week’s Class 3A state boys’ basketball tournament. Powell split four games in Jackson to finish as the fourth-place team in the 3A West regional tournament.

The Panthers open state at 9 p.m., Wednesday, against No. 2 Torrington, a game some suspected might be the 3A championship pairing just one week ago. The contest takes place at Casper College.

Last weekend’s regional tournament began easily enough for the Panthers. Powell scored the first 16 points to open their quarterfinal matchup against Pinedale. The Panthers led by as many as 20 points in the opening period and were never seriously threatened on the way to a 76-30 blowout victory.

“I thought we played very well in our opening-round game,” said Panther head coach Mike Heny. “We got the starters rested, which was what we wanted to do going into the Lyman game.”

While the first part of the Panthers’ regional plan worked to perfection, the second stage did not. For the second time this season, Powell was upset by Lyman, this time by a 65-58 count.

“Lyman matches up very well against us,” Heny said. “We knew going in that it would be a battle. They were one of our three losses during the regular season, so we weren’t expecting to have an easy time of it.”

The Eagles didn’t disappoint. Powell ran out to a halftime lead, but Lyman erupted for 25 points in the third quarter to wrest the lead away from Powell. The Panthers were never able to go back in the lead.

“We couldn’t get a defensive stop when we needed one,” said Heny. “That’s regionals for you. Everything is magnified and Lyman was able to make more plays than we did. Tip your hat to them for how they played.”

The loss plunged the Panthers into an elimination contest against tournament host Jackson. Powell jumped early to a double-digit lead, but Jackson roared back behind a spirited home crowd.

“That was just a great atmosphere for a high school basketball game,” Heny said of the morning contest. “That was as big and as loud a crowd as I can remember being there. The Powell-Jackson girls game was just before ours, so the place was packed with Jackson fans.”

Buoyed by the raucous home crowd, the Broncs chipped away at the Powell lead, eventually wiping it out altogether. Jackson grabbed a slim lead and was up by three late in the contest when senior Tyler Sandal hit the shot that may have helped preserve the Panthers’ postseason dreams.

“We were down by three and there were around 30 seconds left in the game,” Heny said of the critical sequence. “Tyler came off a baseline cut and we hit him in the corner. It’s a shot he’s taken hundreds of times in practice, and he didn’t hesitate for a second. He squared up, took the shot and knocked it down. That gave us a huge lift in momentum.”

But the drama didn’t end there.

“Unfortunately, the kids lost track of what the score was and we fouled on the inbound,” said Heny. “Fortunately, Marshall (McArthur) got the ball back and got a big bucket for us.”

McArthur also made several critical shots in the overtime period, particularly at the charity stripe, to secure the Panthers’ spot in the state tournament field with a 65-62 overtime victory. The junior’s play was magnified considering senior starter Josh Cragoe had fouled out of the contest in the fourth quarter. The Panthers were further hindered when season scoring leader Chase Partridge was whistled for a second technical foul in the contest, resulting in his automatic ejection.

“I’m proud of the bench kids,” Heny said. “They came in and did what they had to do. They helped us make winning plays down the stretch. We just refused to lose that game.”

The victory came at a price, however. The double technical whistled against Partridge meant the senior was forced to sit out of the team’s third-place game against Lander. Partridge will also have to remain on the bench for the team’s state tournament opener against Torrington, according to Heny.

“The technicals were disappointing,” Heny said. “But the kids really stepped up and played well. After a tough, physical game against Jackson, it wasn’t easy to come out and play again just five hours later.”

In many ways, the Panthers’ tournament game against Lander resembled its game against Lyman 24 hours earlier. Powell held the lead at the half, but found that advantage erased early in the third quarter.

“It was like deja vu against Lander,” Heny said. “We had a kid who hadn’t shot the ball very well against us in the two earlier games this year catch fire and go off on us in that third quarter.”

The Panthers were able to cut Lander’s lead to a possession on multiple instances in the fourth quarter. Each time, the Tigers found a way to convert and keep Powell at arm’s reach in the 62-54 victory.

“We just hit a buzzsaw,” said Heny. “We were able to get within striking distance, but we just couldn’t do what we needed to in order to get closer down the stretch.”

The Panthers now head to Casper with a 20-5 overall record. The team will take on No. 2 Torrington, the 3A East regional champion, in round one.

“The number one thing we have to do is figure out what they want to do with Jason McManamen,” said Heny. “He’s a Division I signee who’ll be playing for Wyoming next year. He averages around 20 points a game and he’s a long, tall player who shoots the ball well from outside. They love to float him to wherever they need him on the court.”

While the Panthers will give plenty of attention to the 6-6 McManamen, Heny notes that it could be how Powell performs against the other four players Torrington puts on the floor that could determine the outcome of the first-round game.

“If he’s going to try and beat us, then we need to make absolutely certain that we limit what the other four guys on the floor are capable of doing,” said Heny. “If he’s going to score, we need to make sure nobody else they’ve got on the floor can. We’ll watch some film and come up with what we think will work against him.”

As for the Panthers’ loss of Partridge for the game, Heny notes that doesn’t make the team any different from a number of others who are heading to Casper.

“Buffalo is without its best post player. Lander lost its leading scorer,” said Heny. “It’s that time of the year. Other teams are having to deal with the same thing for various reaons. We’re not going to adjust a lot. We’ll just ask the other kids to step up and make the plays we need for them to make. We just need to play with confidence and get the job done.”

The 3A state basketball tournament starts on Wednesday due to Casper College also playing host to the NJCAA Region IX women’s championship tournament. Thursday semifinal and consolation bracket games will take place inside the Events Center.

The venue will change to Kelly Walsh High School for Friday’s consolation and third-place games. Saturday’s 3A championship games will return to the Events Center floor as the state rotates the high school schedule around the college tournament.