A thrilling victory over Cody just before the winter break had the Powell High School boys’ basketball team riding high.

Now the No. 5-ranked Panthers (2-2) will look to seize on that momentum nearly three weeks later, taking on 2A Rocky Mountain (5-3) in Powell’s home opener at 3 p.m. Saturday.

Coach Mike Heny said that the Panthers have been using the winter break to clean up in all three phases of the game, hoping to find consistency in their style of play.

“At times we have been really good, but we haven’t been able to be as consistent as we need to be in order to beat the good teams we are going to face,” Heny said. 

The Panthers have not been short on excitement to this point of the season, having already played three overtime games while beating Cody on last second free throws by Jhett Schwahn before heading into the break.

He said the long break is both good and bad for the team, as it allows time for the kids to spend time with their friends and family, but interrupts any momentum the team may have built in December while also losing conditioning.

Heny said that the team is treating the Grizzlies like any other team, as the Panthers continue to focus on improving each practice.

“We try to focus on getting better each day and progressing to the point where we can execute an offensive and defensive game plan that allows us to take advantage of our strengths versus whoever we are playing,” Heny said.

He said Rocky Mountain is a strong team, and the Panthers know the visitors are only getting better as the Grizzlies are getting back one of their best players after a football injury.

Powell will get comfortable at home over these next two weekends, as PHS will also play host to the boys’ Big Horn Basin Classic on Jan. 13-14.

“It is always really nice when we get to play in front of our home fans in our building,” Heny said. “We have a nice stretch of home games these next two weeks and hopefully that will allow us to create some momentum going into the conference part of our schedule.”

So far this season the Panthers are averaging 57.5 points per game while giving up 57.2 points per game.

Brock Johnson is currently the second leading scorer in the state and top in the 3A West, averaging 18 points per game on 47% field goal percentage.