Powell’s 31-game winning streak couldn’t survive a buzzer-beating three against the Bearcats to open the Douglas tournament Friday. However, after their first loss in more than 30 games, the Panthers turned around and defeated Burns by 44 and held off Wheatland, the team they had defeated last year to win state, to finish the weekend 2-1. 

Douglas 55, Powell 52

It was a close game against two of 3A’s top teams throughout Friday, the first day of the Douglas Boys Classic. The Panthers (5-1) were down 9-4 midway through the first quarter, but a free throw by Alex Jordan cut the deficit to four and soon after a layup by Keona Wisniewski made it 11-7. Jordan took a pass from Wisniewski as Jordan was racing toward the basket and he sank the layup despite the foul, adding the free throw to make it 13-10. A jump shot by Dawson Griffin cut it to 13-12 after one. 

Douglas (3-4) still led by one midway through the second quarter, but took the lead 20-19 on a breakaway as Wisniewski fed Jordan behind the back for the layup. Powell pulled ahead late in the quarter, taking advantage of steals to turn breakaways into points, and led 30-21 at the half. 

Douglas slowed the Powell offense in the third quarter and took advantage, chipping into the Panthers lead, which was 36-34 after three. 

Douglas took the lead early in the fourth on a four-point play at 38-36, but Evan Whitlock responded with a jump shot to tie it at 38, and the teams continued to trade baskets. 

Wisniewski sank a spot-up three at the halfway mark of the quarter to put Powell ahead 47-45 and the Panthers held onto a lead until a Douglas three with less than 1:30 put the Bearcats ahead 50-49. Griffin hit a three from the top of the circle with 17 seconds left to tie it at 52, but a Douglas player sank a long three at the buzzer for the 55-52 win. 

“There really wasn’t any negative effects to having the winning streak come to an end,” coach Mike Heny said. “All streaks end at some point and the ending of the game was difficult to come to terms with, but we never focused on the winning streak, only trying to play our best each and every night. We weren’t at our best in the second half and Douglas was able to make a few more plays than us down the stretch and that’s just the breaks of the game. Sometimes you win those, sometimes you don’t.”

Jordan finished with a team-high 13 points along with three blocks, Wisniewski added 12 points and six assists, and Jaxon Hancock added 10 points and eight rebounds. 

Powell 78, Burns 34

After a tough loss to start the day, the Panthers waltzed to a win Friday afternoon against Burns (2-6).

Wisniewski and Jordan sank back-to-back 3-pointers midway through the first quarter to open up an 8-2 lead. Wisniewski sank a three and a couple of free throws late to help put Powell ahead 17-6 after one. 

Powell led 32-17 with 3:30 in the second quarter on back-to-back 3-pointers by Taeson Schultz and Jordan and didn’t slow down, finishing the first half ahead 39-17. 

Powell opened up the third with three consecutive Wisniewski shots from deep to open up a 48-19 lead early in the third and posted a 67-27 advantage headed into the fourth. 

With younger players getting good minutes, Powell cruised to the 78-34 win. 

“We were able to come out against Burns and dominate a team we are much better than,” Heny said. “I was proud of how fast the kids put the loss behind them since we only had 90 minutes to get ready for a Burns team we had never played before. We shot the ball much better in that game and played really well in all three phases.”

Wisniewski led the team with 21 points, Hancock added 13 points and eight rebounds, and Jordan scored 13, had six rebounds and four steals. Dawson Griffin led the team with six assists, as Heny said Griffin was effective at dishing the ball all weekend. 

Powell 53, Wheatland 48

Jordan capped off the Powell scoring with a dunk as the Panthers held off Wheatland (3-5) Saturday in Douglas. 

Both teams started slow and it was 2-2 until more than halfway through the first half when Jordan sank a putback on a fast break attempt. Powell led 8-4 after one. 

Powell maintained its small lead and finished the first half ahead 26-23.

The Panthers fell behind early in the third as Wheatland went on a run to take a 34-28 lead three minutes in. Jordan tied it on a layup with less than two minutes remaining and sank another with just over a minute to put Powell ahead 40-38. After a late Bulldogs basket, the teams were tied going into the fourth. 

Powell began to pull ahead in the fourth and a three by 12 halfway through put Powell up 49-42, a lead which the Panthers held onto to the 53-48 finish. 

“The Wheatland win was a gritty effort by the kids as we came out a little flat and didn’t find a good rhythm offensively until the fourth quarter,” Heny said. “We were finally able to break free from Wheatland by making a few shots including the two three’s by Keona and one by Abel [Teten] in a span of about four possessions. That really put Wheatland in catch up mode and was a big factor in getting that win.”

Jordan led with 12 points and seven rebounds, Wisniewski added nine points and three assists, Hancock scored seven, pulled down 14 rebounds and recorded two blocks, and Nathan Preator led with five assists. 

“We had all of our guys play well this weekend. It has been pleasant to see guys doing everything they can to help contribute to the team’s success other than just scoring,” Heny said. 

Next up

Powell will take a week off to enjoy the holidays and then be back for the alumni game at 4 p.m. Monday, Dec. 30. The Panthers next return to action Jan. 9 when they host Rocky Mountain.