Exhausted.

Three straight days left the Powell High School boys’ basketball team tired but with plenty of experience after going to three overtime games, defeating Lander 67-61 on Thursday, losing to Laramie 61-57 and losing to Pinedale in double overtime 58-55 on Saturday at the Strannigan Tournament in Lander.

POWELL 67, LANDER 61 (OT)

Kicking off the season the Panthers (1-2) took on hosts Lander (1-2) Thursday looking to start the season out strong.

Both teams struggled in the first quarter with turnovers and poor shooting, with Powell taking a 9-7 lead into the second.

The Panthers held onto that lead despite starting point guard Gunnar Erickson going to the bench in early foul trouble.

“Any time you have a starter get into foul trouble, it changes the rotations and creates issues, especially when it’s a floor leader and one of our main offensive threats,” coach Mike Heny said.

The game remained just as close heading into halftime, as the Panthers clung onto a 23-21 lead.

Powell appeared to be pulling ahead in the third quarter, extending the lead out to as many as 11 and holding a nine point lead heading into the fourth.

Lander started to rally with just under five minutes left, when Erickson picked up another foul and received a subsequent technical foul, fouling out to give the Tigers momentum.

The lead was cut from nine to four in a single possession, and Lander continued to rally.

“Any time you’re on the road in a hostile environment and something like that happens, it definitely shifts the momentum in favor of the home team,” Heny said. “The shot went in on the foul and they made all the free throws to cut our nine-point lead to four. The crowd then got even more involved and it rattled us a bit.”

The Panthers also lost rotational player Alex Jordan to an injury just a minute earlier in the quarter.

Lander had a shot to win the game at the buzzer, but a long 3-point attempt was off the back of the rim and the game went into overtime tied at 56.

Trailing 61-60, a 3-pointer by Marshall Lewis gave Powell the lead for good with a minute left and late free throws by Brock Johnson iced the game 67-61.

Johnson led the way with 19 points. Trey Stenerson finished with 12, Lewis and Erickson both finished with 10 points.

Overall the Panthers had 25 turnovers, which kept Lander alive.

“The turnovers didn’t necessarily impact how we played against Lander, it just didn’t allow us to separate from them and it kept the score close,” Heny said. “I felt like we were controlling the game but our turnovers were allowing Lander to keep the score close and make runs each time we pushed the lead out to nine or 10.”

LARAMIE 61, POWELL 57 (OT)

After a late night Thursday night the Panthers turned around Friday morning, taking on 4A Laramie (2-2).

In the first, Powell pushed the lead out to as many as six points, before Laramie closed the gap to 15-13 heading into the second.

Laramie took advantage in the second quarter, taking the lead 24-22 heading into the break.

The two exchanged leads in the third until Laramie pulled ahead by as many as seven, and took a 39-35 lead heading into the fourth quarter.

In the final frame the Panthers trailed by eight with under four minutes left, and a 10-2 run over the final minutes capped off by a banked-in, buzzer-beating 3-pointer by Johnson tied the game and sent it into overtime.

The two teams battled back and forth, with Laramie continuing to retake the lead on catch-and-shoot 3-pointers.

“In overtime, we kept getting the lead and each time they would make a three to take it back and finally we weren’t able to overcome the deficit,” Heny said.

The Panthers 61-57 loss dropped them to 1-1 on the season heading into Saturday against Pinedale.

Erickson led the Panthers with 19, while Johnson finished with 15.

PINEDALE 58, POWELL 55 (2OT)

After a disappointing loss on Friday, Powell matched up with 3A West foe Pinedale (2-1) to cap off the weekend, trying to finish 2-1 heading out of the tournament.

On the back of two overtime games the Panthers came out slow, trailing 12-7 to the Wranglers after the first quarter.

Powell tightened the score, but still trailed 18-16 heading into halftime.

A Lewis 3-pointer gave the Panthers the lead out of the break, as they appeared to take control up five.

A quick rally in the final minute gave Pinedale the lead back at 30-29 going into the fourth quarter.

Pinedale led by six with less than four minutes left, but an intentional foul on a Johnson fast break gave the Panthers two free throws and the ball late in the game.

Powell tied the game with a minute left at 41, and neither team found a winner in the final seconds to send the game into overtime.

In overtime the Panthers led late, but missed free throws kept Pinedale in the game and the Wranglers eventually tied with a layup just before the buzzer to send the game into double overtime tied at 49.

Pinedale took the lead with under 30 seconds left on free throws, and the Panthers could not answer in the 58-55 loss.

“The biggest lesson I learned is that I need to do a better job helping the kids understand situations at the end of games,” Heny said. “I take 100% of the blame for the loss against Pinedale. It’s my job to make sure everyone is on the same page both offensively and defensively and I feel like I let them down.”

Johnson led the Panthers with 19 points and 11 rebounds, and Erickson finished with 13 points and 11 boards. Overall the Panthers shot 3-17 from 3-point range as a team.

RIVALRY GAME

After two disappointing overtime losses, the Panthers turn around for one more game before winter break, matching up with rival Cody (2-1) on Friday at 7 p.m.

Heny said he knows Cody will have a size advantage over the Panthers, but knows that his team’s offense is changing and adjusting early in the season.

“We learned a season’s worth of experience in one weekend as far as overtimes and end of game situations go,” Heny said. “Their size advantage will definitely be a challenge so rebounding will be a key focus for us this week at practice. We will also need to improve on defending the 3-point line in order to make it more difficult for their shooters.”

POWELL 67, LANDER 61 (OT)

Offensive rebounds in ()

Points — Brock Johnson 19, Trey Stenerson 12, Marshall Lewis 10, Gunnar Erickson 10, Jace Hyde 8, Cade Queen 4, Alex Jordan 4

Rebounds — Marshall Lewis 8 (1), Jhett Schwahn 8 (1), Trey Stenerson 7 (2), Gunnar Erickson 6 (2), Brock Johnson 4 (1), Jace Hyde 4 (2), Alex Jordan 4, Cade Queen 3 (1)

Assists — Jhett Schwahn 7, Brock Johnson 3, Jace Hyde 3, Gunnar Erickson 3, Trey Stenerson 2, Marshall Lewis 1

Steals — Brock Johnson 3, Trey Stenerson 3, Gunnar Erickson 2, Jace Hyde 1, Jhett Schwahn 1, Cade Queen 1

Blocks — Marshall Lewis 1, Jace Hyde 1

LARAMIE 61, POWELL 57 (OT)

Points — Gunnar Erickson 19, Brock Johnson 15, Marshall Lewis 8, Trey Stenerson 4, Jhett Schwahn 4, Cade Queen 4, Jace Hyde 3

Rebounds — Trey Stenerson 9 (4), Brock Johnson 6 (2), Gunnar Erickson 5 (2), Jhett Schwahn 4, Cade Queen 4, Marshall Lewis 3 (1), Jace Hyde 3

Asissts — Jhett Schwahn 4, Gunnar Erickson 4, Brock Johnson 2, Jace Hyde 2

Steals — Brock Johnson 3, Trey Stenerson 3

Blocks — Brock Johnson 1, Trey Stenerson 1

PINEDALE 58, POWELL 55 (2OT)

Points — Brock Johnson 19, Gunnar Erickson 13, Marshall Lewis 9, Trey Stenerson 7, Jhett Schwahn 3, Jace Hyde 2, Cade Queen 2

Rebounds — Brock Johnson 11 (1), Gunnar Erickson 11 (3), Jhett Schwahn 9 (2), Trey Stenerson 6 (3), Marshall Lewis 2, Cade Queen 2 (1), Jace Hyde 1

Assists — Brock Johnson 3, Jhett Schawhn 3, Gunnar Erickson 2

Steals — Jhett Schwahn 4, Cade Queen 3, Brock Johnson 2, Gunnar Erickson 2, Jace Hyde 1

Blocks — Jace Hyde 2, Trey Stenerson 1