A strong season came to a close with a runner up finish in the conference tournament for the eighth grade Powell Middle School boys’ basketball team, finishing 14-3 with a 12-0 regular season conference record.

Powell started the season 5-0 including a buzzer-beater against Cody in front of the Cub faithful before the first loss of the season came at home to Rocky Mountain.

The Cubs then won four more before another loss at Rocky Mountain.

Powell then closed out the regular season with three straight wins, before winning its first two tournament games before a loss to Cody in the championship in Cody.

“They notched road wins at Cody and at Lovell — both are extremely difficult feats at the middle school level,” coach Chris Wolff said.

He said that the Cubs were able to get additional coaching this year from Powell High School Hall of Famer Jesseca Cross, who joined the staff to help the team improve.

“Her presence and willingness to share her knowledge and experience with the boys and staff was incredible,” Wolff said.

He said that the team formed its identity on the defensive end, helping keep opponents low in scoring throughout the season.

“Teams had a difficult time scoring against them all year long,” Wolff said. 

He said the team continued to improve as a group.

“They improved all season long with their willingness and ability to work together,” Wolff said. “They discovered that they were very difficult to beat if they shared the ball and played on the offensive end in a selfless manner.”

Some of the players on the team included Knox Johnson, who was the top scorer for the Cubs, with Wolff saying he improved his teamwork throughout the season.

He also said Braxton Nelson was a very athletically gifted player who was a key rebounder for the team; Tucker Muecke was a tough player, who had one of the best shooting streaks at the end of the season Wolff has seen as a coach; Kamea Wisniewski was one of their leaders, a true student of the game and a great thinker; Gianreye D’Alessandro was the best defender on the team, and was versatile in his ability to play all the positions; Karcher Foley was a talented point guard for the group, with great ball skills and athleticism; and Keaton Bennett was also a tenacious defender, changing the outcome of games due to his hustle.

With this team heading to the next level Wolff sees a bright future for a group heading into a program that just won a state championship at the high school level.

“Our championship team and program is reloading,” Wolff said.